The Tamer v2 - In His Name
by leonardo1123581321
Summary: In the next adventure of the Digimon Tamer, the lives of Juri, Rika, and Henry change forever when digimon begin crossing over into the human world. But it's all just a story, right? Just a book series by an author no one has seen in a long time. Why are they here and can they save their world before something worse follows the digimon?
1. The Digimon Appear

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Happy New Year everyone. I hope you're well and excited for the next phase of the story. A quick little rune down. This story will be a little different from The Tamer and The Tamer v1.2. Let me explain, this story is going to be a soft reboot of the Tamerverse in the vein of Doctor Who's regeneration between Doctors. I'm not retconning anything - all the events from the previous story still happened and there will be a lot of continuity nods for readers of the previous stories. But much like Doctor Who, if you haven't read those stories then I have good news! You don't need to. Everything that happened previously won't really affect this story except as vague references to past events. And that's what I mean by a soft reboot. The past stuff still happened but we're not concentrating too hard on it. We're concentrating on the new characters and their struggles and adventures - similar to how each Doctor tends to ignore the life of the previous Doctor to focus on the current Doctor's adventures and travels. Now that's out of the way, let's get started with the next story in the The Tamerverse!

…

In the furthest depths of the Digital World, four of the strongest guardians of the Digital World found themselves on the retreat. They were known as the Sovereigns - the digimon who oversaw the Digital World. And they were afraid.

But they didn't know what of. They didn't even know how to describe it. It was amorphous, but it could take any shape at will. It could be harmed, but it could just as quickly replace what it lost. And it was strong - that was the simplest way to describe it. They threw their strongest attacks to try and drive it off, at the very least slow it down. Instead it swallowed their attacks, as if all they'd done was feed it. And it continued to advance upon them. As the four strongest digimon guardians were certain they wouldn't escape with their lives, an unlikely hero appeared. A digimon whose might couldn't compare to theirs but whose skill and experience spoke for itself.

"WarGreymon!" Azulongmon shouted, "What are you doing here?"

"I could feel what you guys were doing from the other side of the the Digital World," WarGreymon answered, before pointing at the thing behind them, "What is that?"

"We don't know. Quickly! We have to escape!" Azulongmon warned, urging the hero of the Digital World to flee, "It's too strong, even for you."

WarGreymon looked at Azulongmon, then back down at whatever was climbing its way out, "If you can't beat it, then we can't let it loose in the Digital World. The-there's no other option. We have to…protect the Catalyst! If that thing gets a hold of it, who knows what'll happen. I'll slow it down! Protect the catalyst and prepare the Digital World."

"Slow it down?" Azulongmon repeated, "That thing took all of our strongest attacks at the same time. And all it wanted was more!"

"Don't worry about me. GO! Get to the Bastion and send the Catalyst away!" WarGreymon shouted. It was only then that Azulongmon understood what WarGreymon intended to do. Before they could talk him out of it, WarGreymon added, "And do me a favor. When Tamer shows up again…tell him he took too long. And I'm sorry."

"We will remember your sacrifice," Azulongmon replied, retreating away with the rest of the Sovereigns. Azulongmon looked back once to see WarGreymon creating a large ball of fire. He thought he would throw it at the creature, but instead he threw it into the rock face beside them. It was only then that Azulongmon understood what was happening - WarGreymon couldn't fight it so he was going to bury it alive. But even a mega of his level couldn't survive the full weight of the Digital World crashing down atop him.

"TERRA FORCE!"

The fire and fury disappeared as the rocks crashed down around them. WarGreymon was gone. He may not have perished to that thing, but he was gone. With any hope, he would retain his memories after he reformatted. But they couldn't dwell on his sacrifice. They had to protect the Catalyst. They fled for the Bastion to fulfill WarGreymon's last request.

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 1: The Digimon Appear**

Ten year old Ruki Makino was known as Rika to her friends. Or she would've been if she had any friends worth mentioning. Despite her pretty face and her warm upbringing by her loving mother, she had developed a cold personality that kept everyone else at arm's length. Including her own family. There were only two people in her life that she could speak to openly. The first was her grandmother, the closest thing she considered to be an actual adult in her life. Her mother was a model for a fashion company and was too caught up with her own work to actually care for Rika. She tried to involve her daughter in the modeling in some ill conceived attempt at mother-daughter bonding. That same attempt was how Ruki found out she hated modeling and somehow managed to like her mother less after that.

On the first day of the shoot, she threw off the pretty dresses and stylish clothes in favor of her jeans and shirt; running out of the studio and as far away as she could.

That act of rebellion led to her stumbling across a few kids playing a card game nearby which she instantly fell in love with. She began playing after begging her grandmother to buy her a deck of cards and a card reader. And she turned out to have quite the talent for it. It wasn't long before she started entering tournaments and playing to win. That was when she met the second person she could talk to - a curious and enthusiastic young boy whom she considered her equal in the game. A boy she came to know as Ryo Akiyama.

They first met at the finals of the tournament - where all her natural talent and skill were undone by his carefully thought out strategies and luck. Despite beating her, he still thanked her for offering him a good match and hoped to see her again. Maybe that was when she found herself developing a small crush on him. Of all the people in the world, he seemed like the only one worth her time. She wanted to be able to say more than few words to him every time they met but could only squeak out a small 'hello' and 'later' whenever she did. The most embarrassing time was during the last tournament when the two of them made it all the way to the finals and played against each other. Despite losing to him for the second time, they were both given the title the Digimon King and Queen. It was a close match, and a few times the odds turned in the other's favor. In the end, he pulled a surprise move and beat her in the last round, narrowly pulling victory from defeat. She wanted to congratulate him, but was too shy to say anything that time he either.

Then he just vanished. Disappeared. Not just from the game but from life. For a while, his face was all over the news as he'd gone missing. His parents put out missing posters and had recruited some neighbors to help look. But nothing. Rika kept hoping one day she might accidentally bump into him on her way to and from school. But he never did reappear. He was just gone.

And her love for the card game went with him. It had become too easy without him there as a challenge, and almost no one could keep up with her in a game. In one round of the previous tournament, she'd won in just five turns. But it felt empty and she went home that night planning on leaving the card game forever. She put the card reader and her deck in a shoebox and planned to forget about the whole thing.

That night, she had the most terrible dream. A nightmare filled with digital monsters roaring and howling, all chasing her as she fled for her life from them. She wanted the nightmare to end and would do anything for it. As she ran, she came across a small light that chased the monsters away. When the light faded, she saw a boy just a little bit older than her standing there with raggedy clothes. He held out his hand towards her and said, "Find me."

"What?"

"You have to find me."

She tried to get a better look at his face but could only make out the vaguest details. But his voice was so familiar. Then it hit her, "Ryo?"

Then he was gone, replaced by an image of another boy with his back to her. He didn't look back but he said only one thing, "It's coming, and you need to be ready."

She jolted awake to a darkened bed room in their traditional style home in a higher end neighborhood of Shinjuku. She looked around the dark room and saw a small light emanating from the shoebox. Her heart pounded in her chest as fear overtook her, sliding the lid off to find her card reader glowing. Then it flashed, blinding her briefly until she could see it again and saw something that she'd only ever dreamed of. It only took one glance to realize what it was, "A digivice!"

She'd only ever seen this in illustration on the covers of booster packs and deck boxes. Never in real life. Then another light appeared behind her. She grabbed the digivice and turned around to see a window in the air - a glowing light silhouetting the unmistakable outline of a Goblimon. It began, "You are…it has to be. Yes, you must be the Tamer!"

"The Tamer?" she repeated quietly, "What are you talking about?"

"The Tamer!" the Goblimon repeated, "A great warrior who can raise any digimon to unstoppable levels. You must train me! I can be your partner!"

"Warrior? I'm not a warrior! I'm ten!" Rika protested, wondering this thing got that stupid idea. The Goblimon insisted, "There's no more time! Make me your partner. Make me stronger!"

Before she had time to process what it was saying to her, another voice spoke out of the darkness, "Is that…the Tamer?"

"Yes, it has to be the Tamer!"

"Tamer! Choose me as your partner!"

"No, choose me! I'm already strong! Together, we can be stronger!"

The outlines of digimon poured through to appear by the window, and she could only make out so many. Something that resembled a Devimon, a Tyrannomon, a Palmon, a Digitamamon, a Tentomon and more. Their voices grew louder as they pleaded more. Rika covered her ears to drown out their voices. They were so loud that she was certain someone in their house would hear it. But another thought scared her more. If they could hear all the noise, why was no one coming to help her?

Why would they? The only one who truly cared was her grandmother and what could she do? At her age, there wasn't much. Rika would have to do this on her own. She uncovered her ears and shouted, "If I'm getting a partner then I'm choosing that partner for myself."

The digimon fell silent at her declaration and she finally had the chance to think clearly. If she knew what she wanted then there was no shame for her to make her conditions known, "I want a strong digimon! A partner who's already the strongest, so that when I make them stronger they become unbeatable. They have to be fast, smart, loyal, and brave, and willing to do anything I ask without question!"

The silence continued as the digimon looked between each other. Then they stepped aside as a new digimon silhouette came to the front. Rika didn't recognize this digimon as she stepped out of the lighted window and bowed before her. A yellow fox standing on two legs wearing purple gloves that ran up the length of her arm. The fox looked up, "I am Renamon. I am the digimon you're looking for, Digimon Tamer."

"Hi," she replied quietly, taken aback by seeing a real life digimon standing in front of her. She'd heard stories about how they were real. About how years ago they'd appeared in the Real World. But all she'd seen were the novels by the author, the card game and toys, and the TV show that aired for a little bit. Aside from the card game, none of it really interested her. She'd never actually seen one in real life. Part of her wanted to jump for joy but she was still too shaken by them all suddenly appearing at once to actually do anything.

Renamon rose from her bow and added, "I look forward to working with you. May we grow stronger together and become an unstoppable team."

"So…am I a digidestined?" Rika asked. Renamon turned her head, "If you wish, although the stories said Digimon Tamer never answered to the title. So what-"

"Don't call me that," Rika snapped, annoyed with hearing the name. Renamon fell quiet, then asked, "Then what do you wish me to call you?"

"Rika," she answered, "Call me Rika."

Renamon bowed, "Very well, Rika."

…

Jangliang Lee always preferred going by his nickname Henry. It came about when his classmates struggled to pronounce his name and read it as Jenrya when he was in pre school. From there, they decided to just call him Henry. Ever since, the name stuck. Even at home, his family started calling him Henry thinking that the name was cute.

What they didn't approve of was his love of the digimon computer game. Or rather, his mom didn't approve and his dad didn't want to defy her. He had to go out of his way to help him keep it secret. After all, the game had nothing to do with his studies or his Tai Chi training. And how else would Henry get to be a great doctor if he spent all day playing a silly game? And who else would know better for him than his own mother?

It was hard, but his dad was able to sneak in a dresser with a lock so that Henry could lock up his computer if he needed to hide it. Maybe that's what started the whole thing. His dad had also quietly gave him new digimon games every time one came out which he quickly installed.

And the new one came out today! It had a new feature that allowed it to read the data off cards so that it could affect the game, and he excitedly attached his card reader to his computer. After starting the game, Henry had the choice of picking his starter digimon - Terriermon, Gorillamon, Hagurumon, Kabuterimon, Palmon, and Seadramon. For him, it was a no brainer - he chose Terriermon.

Then something happened he didn't expect. The other digimon ganged up on Terriermon right at the character select screen. Terriermon was in trouble at first, running for his life as the digimon attacked. Straight out of the character select screen and out into some large open desert. It was like the game was breaking the fourth wall. Then the audio came through and it sounded so real - like he was actually watching everything through a window.

"Why'd the digimon tamer choose you?"

"He should've chosen me! I'm stronger!"

"Any one of us would've been a better pick than you!"

"Kill him!"

"Terriermon!" Henry gasped in terror, watching the little digimon flee for his life. This was one hell of a horrible first level if this was how they started the game. Henry pressed a few keys on his keyboard to take control, only to get no reaction from any of the digimon on screen. It must not have played like the last one. So he switched to his card reader and deck. If the game operated like the card game, all he would have to do is scan the right cards. After fumbling through his deck, he began, "Alright. Let's give them a taste of this! Speed boost activate! Power boost activate!"

Immediately, Terriermon took off at full speed running away from the digimon at first. Then he turned and ran straight at Gorillamon, leaping into the air and kicking him in the face so that he landed flat on his back. Then he turned on Palmon and Hagurumon. Terriermon dispatched them both with ease, knocking them aside, only to find himself surrounded by Gorillamon, Seadramon, and Kabuterimon. Thinking quickly, Henry swiped the next card in his deck, "WarGreymon's Brave Shield, Activate!"

The golden shield appeared in Terriermon's hands and he leapt away while using it to shield himself from their endless attacks. Once the attacks ended, Terriermon grabbed the edges of the shield with his ears and hurled it like a frisbee at Kabuterimon. It bounced off his head and continued straight towards Seadramon - slicing the digimon in half.

Henry reeled at the violence he'd witnessed, surprised to see such gore in a game targeted towards kids. The other digimon panicked and turned to run, and Henry cheered, "Alright, Terriermon! You got 'em!"

As the digimon retreated, Terriermon gave chase - firing his bubbles from his mouth wildly at the fleeing digimon. Terriermon laughed with glee as the digimon ran, "Don't run! Don't run! I only want to be your friend!"

"Okay Terriermon, that's enough," Henry began, realizing that he was trying to talk down a digimon in a computer game. Terriermon continued unabated anyway, pursuing the fleeing Kabuterimon and Gorillamon, "Where are you going? I thought you wanted to play!"

"Terriermon! That's enough! Stop it!" Henry pleaded with the little digimon only to see the fight go on longer, "Why are you being like this!? Is...Did I do this? Are all digimon like this!?"

Henry pondered these questions in his head as he watched Terriermon continue, using WarGreymon's shield to beat Kabuterimon, Palmon, and Hagurumon until they were flattened pulps on the ground. Then they dissipated to data. Gorillamon was the last one standing and he turned in place, "I'm not running anymore. If I'm going down, I'll take you with me! EAT THIS!"

He fired the cannon on his arm at Terriermon, but the little digimon still had an active speed and strength boost. Dodging those attacks was easy for him. The first shot went wide. The second shot struck the ground. The third shot just barely missed. Terriermon was slowing down. Henry noticed it but Terriermon didn't, "Terriermon! Run away! The speed boost is almost gone!"

His words couldn't reach Terriermon. He should've known this by now. There was nothing he could've done to stop his digimon from walking straight into the last blast from Gorillamon's cannon. He should've been dead. By some miracle, he was still alive but he was lying on the ground."

Gorillamon laughed, "That's right! I win! I am the best! Now prepare to die! Maybe then the tamer will choose me!"

"NO! TERRIERMON!" Henry leapt up off his chair in a panic, grabbing at the computer screen in vain. All he wanted was to play a game. He didn't want to see this. He didn't want this cruelty! This wasn't right. This wasn't a fun game anymore. Whatever this was, Henry wanted it to stop, "Gorillamon, don't do it. Please stop! Please!"

He was so caught up with watching the screen that he didn't notice his card reader start to glow. All he could focus on was Terriermon about to die. Gorillamon presses the cannon against the little guys'd face, but backed away when he started to glow a soft light. That was when he finally noticed his card reader glowing. Henry looked over at it and watched it warp into a new device he didn't recognize. It was white, with a green trim around the screen and green belt strap. If he didn't know any better, he would've called it a digivice.

Then his screen came to life with a brilliant light. When it faded, Terriermon lay in front of him on his desk, unconscious but still breathing. His mind tried to process everything he was seeing but it was all happening too fast for him to grasp it properly. All he could do was weep into the little digimon before him and beg for forgiveness, "I'm sorry Terriermon. I'm so sorry."

He could feel the tears streaming down his face as he picked up the small white digimon in front of him, "I didn't mean for this. I'm so sorry!"

"Hey, watch the water works," he heard Terriermon mumble softly. He opened his eyes to see Terriermon staring back down with one open eye on him. He breathed a sigh of relief, relieved to see the digimon was alive and well. Without thinking, he squeezed the digimon in his arms and promised, "I swear, I won't make you fight like that again. I won't let you get hurt."

"Ow," Terriermon protested weakly, "You really suck at keeping promises you know that. You swore you wouldn't hurt me and you're still hurting me."

Henry stifled a laugh, relieved to see the digimon was alive and well.

...

Juri Kato was normal by every measure of the word. She was ten years old, slightly taller than most girls her age, liked to wear a green dress and wore her long red hair tied off into pony tail on the side of her head. The only peculiarity with her worth mentioning was the yellow sock puppet in the shape of a dog that she kept on her at all times.

Of course, any peculiarity she had was overshadowed by her class mate Takato Matsuda. She and her friends arrived early and started talking as they settled into their seats. Then Takato's friends Kazu and Kenta came running in just as the bell rang to signal the start of class. That was when their teacher Ms. Asaji came in. Miss Asaji was a young woman, with long brown hair that ran down the length of her back which she parted and tucked behind her hair. Despite her stern attitude, Juri could tell that she genuinely cared about her students and wanted them to succeed.

Juri who was in charge of the class that day, led the class with the traditional greeting and bowing to their teacher.

Then their teacher began, "Okay class. I hope you all remembered to do your assignments for today. Pass them to the front of the class for me to collect and I'll hand out your quizzes. You have ten minutes to get as many right as you can."

There was a collective groan and Kazu complained, "Again? Come on, Ms. Asaji! That's the third time this month!"

Their teacher turned on Kazu, "If you spent half as much time studying as you did complaining, you probably wouldn't be complaining at all, Kazu."

There was a small giggle from the class until Miss Asaji settled them down and started handing out the quiz for the day. As the papers made their rounds, Juri noticed one desk was empty. And it would be about five minutes into the quiz, when the classroom was absolutely silent, that the back door into the classroom slid open.

Juri turned her head slightly and giggled as she watched the class trouble maker Takato Matsuda sneak in quietly. He was the shortest boy in class, probably only a hair taller than herself, and liked wearing his blue hoodie with brown khaki shorts. He'd barely gone two steps into the room when Ms. Asaji announced, "Don't think I don't hear you Takato. You're late."

"Well, if you think about it, I'm actually arriving at time I'm supposed to arrive and you're all just a couple of minutes earlier than I am. So, I think you should give everyone extra credit for that," Takato countered in a desperate attempt at reasoning with her. It didn't work. Miss Asaji answered with a sigh, massaging her temple while frowning, "So in your argument, I'm early too?"

"Yeah, they should give you a raise!" he added with a smile. She sighed, "What am I going to do with you? You can stand out in the hallway until next period."

" _Can_? I get a choice?" Takato asked, "Then can I sit instead?"

"Just get out!" Miss Asaji snapped, pointing out the door. Takato yelped and ran out of the room while the class laughed hysterically. Juri found herself smiling at his antics. Takato was weird, but he wasn't mean. And he was always good for a laugh.

She could make out Takato's silhouette through the hall window, and noticed him sitting down immediately despite being told to stand. It only took Miss Asaji a minute to notice, and she went out to go speak with him. Through the open door, it was hard to miss a word of it, "What are you doing?"

"Drawing," he answered, sounding unaware of who he was talking to.

"Cartoons?"

"No, it's a digimon," Takato answered more irritably, "Don't you know anythi…thi…this is not as bad as it sounds."

"Oh, then what does it sound like?" Miss Asaji asked. Takato stammered, "Like a student who's trying his best to appeal to a kind and forgiving teacher who is completely willing to forgive any bad behavior on account of her belief that everyone deserves a second chance?"

"You're on chance number thirty-three," Miss Asaji countered, "And we're only a few months into the year. That's at least twice a week you've been late, missed an assignment, or wandered off in the middle of class."

Takato raised up his hands defensively, "In my defense, I was trying to stop anyone from eating the curry yesterday."

"Don't do this to me today, Takato. I've got a headache. You can stay after class and write an apology letter for your behavior," Miss Asaji answered as she massaged her head, "Then you can clean up after class."

"I…okay," Takato sighed in defeat. Miss Asaji grumbled under her breath as she guided Takato back into class, "You're just like my brother. Okay class. Let's start with today's lesson."

Juri stifled a laugh, amused by Takato's antics. He didn't cause any more trouble for the rest of the day and was oddly quiet afterwards. Juri felt a little sorry for the boy, especially since he was now stuck with the home room clean up by himself.

At the end of the day, Juri collected her things and went to join her friends as they left. They got to talking about what they'd do for the rest of the day, and Juri was about to propose they go hang out in the park when she realized, "Oh oops. I forgot my recorder in class!"

"Who cares? Forget about it! Let's go do something!"

"Sorry, Ill catch up with you later!" Juri apologized as she started running back to school. Her friends continued on without her as she raced back into the class room, where the last few students were filing out for the day. As she got back into the classroom, she saw Takato banging his head on the piece of paper he had in front of him, "I hate sitting still! How do I make an apology note this long? What am I supposed to write? I'm very, very, very, very sorry? Yeah right!"

He was so caught up in grumbling that he hardly noticed her. Seeing an opportunity to cheer him up, she slipped her sock puppet onto her hand and poked it in his face, "Woof! You were bad today! Woof!"

Takato was startled and nearly fell over backwards out of his seat. Juri giggled and apologized, "Sorry, I just forgot my recorder. Bad recorder! Woof!"

"Uh huh," Takato nodded as she made her way back to her desk to retrieve it. Seeing he'd calmed down, she lowered the puppet and added, "You'd better get started on that apology note. You have a whole page to write!"

When Takato continued to stare, she became self conscious for the first time and hurried her way out. She took a few steps before sticking her sock puppet back through the door to repeat, "Woof! Hurry up if you want to get home before dark!"

She heard Takato chuckle and knew she'd helped improve his mood. When she got home that night, she found her dad playing with her half brother while her step mom was busy making dinner in the kitchen. She called out, "I'm home!"

"Welcome back!" her dad called back before her mother came out wiping her hands on her apron, "Hey, Juri. Could you do me a favor and run down to the bakery to get some bread for dinner?"

"Uh, sure," Juri answered sheepishly. Although her step mother had tried her hardest, Juri always had the hardest time interacting with her. She couldn't admit it, but deep down she missed her real mother. But she passed away years prior from a disease that she never fully recovered from. Her step mom handed her a few bills of he and said, "Get some potato bread and some doughnuts for the morning."

"Okay," Juri set her bag down and hurried back out to the local bakery just down the block. The city center was surprisingly busy for a week night, with crowds of people busily making their way home or finishing some shopping. And the inside of the bakery was no different - The Matsuda Family Bakery which was also owned and run by the parents of Takato.

The line to the front was long but moved quickly. The smell of freshly baked bread filled the air, made all the better by the smile on Takato's mom's face, "Oh hey Juri. Does your mom want the potato bread again?"

Juri nodded and smiled, "Yeah and some doughnuts for tomorrow morning."

Takato's mom laughed, and went about filling two bags with potato bread and rings for her. Then she winked and snuck a few powdered jelly doughnuts in for Juri, "This is our secret, okay?"

"Yes ma'am," Juri nodded with a smile, holding out the money her mom gave her. Just as Takato's mom was about to take it, he came running in with his bag over his shoulder, "Mom! Dad, I'm home!"

Takato came in so quickly that he almost knocked over a few of the customers. His mom scolded him, "Takato! No running in the store!"

"Sorry mom," he apologized, stopping to bow in apology. Then he paused when he noticed Juri was there. It was hard to miss the stunned look in his eyes as he stammered, "Oh, uh, hi Juri."

Juri snickered, having a good guess on why he was so panicked. She waved and whispered in his ear, "It's okay, I didn't tell them about what happened in school today. But you owe me Takato."

Then she winked and made her way out of the store. As she stepped out, she heard Takato's mom tease, "Who was that Takato? Was that your girlfriend?"

"MOM!" Takato blurted out in embarrassment. Juri giggled at the reaction and carried on back towards her home. After a small dinner, Juri spent her night practicing on her little wooden recorder and playing with her step brother before going bed.

...

Juri was in a long dark hall. She must've been no more than six, and her only company was her father sitting alone on a bench. He shook his head and explained, "I'm sorry Juri. Mommy won't be coming home with us."

"Why not daddy?" she asked. Her father looked up, "She...she's sleeping now. Don't worry about her."

"But daddy," she protested only to be scolded, "Don't Juri!"

Then the room shifted, melting together around her father until he turned into a large blob that screeched in a terrible voice. She panicked and started to run only to be told, "You can't run Juri! This is the destiny of all things!"

She had no idea what that meant and didn't want to know. All she knew was that she wanted to escape from this horrible monster. But she couldn't. And just as she was sure it would take her, someone held out their hand to help. She couldn't make out who it was but the voice was so familiar to her. There was a comfort to it that put all her worries at ease, "Did someone say destiny?"

She took that hand that meant safety, "I wouldn't worry about destiny. It's your life. Do what you want."

And promptly jolted awake in her bedroom. It was late at night now. She scanned the darkened room for anything amiss and found nothing to occupy her attention. She sighed in relief, knowing that it was all a bad dream and glad there was nothing that could seriously harm her.

…

 **Author's Notes:** Happy New Year's guys. Hope you're enjoying it so far, and thanks for continuing to enjoy this story with me. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section - and don't forget to follow/favorite the story to keep up with all the latest updates and chapters. I'm also expanding this story a little bit by cross posting to Archive of Our Own under my username leonardo1123581321. I might expand elsewhere, I'm not sure yet. That's all for now. The next update will come out next week on Friday January 11th at 8 PM CDT. That's all for now, let's look at previews for the next chapter:

That evening, Rika went out with her new partner. Thankfully, they lived in a secluded neighborhood and it wasn't hard to get to the local park without getting noticed. Not that it would've mattered because Renamon had some uncanny ability to disappear and reappear at a moment's notice, like she was simply turning invisible.

She took a seat at a nearby bench and asked, "Renamon, why do you need _me_ to become stronger?"

Her partner appeared beside her with arms crossed and explained, "Any digimon can be raised to greatness with a partner. And if your skill is as good as they say, then we can become unstoppable."

"But why?" Rika asked more seriously. Renamon paused as if considering the question before answering, "It is the way of the Digital World. The weak die so the strong may live. New life grows and challenges the strong. That is always how it's been."

Rika raised an eyebrow at that before pointing out, "You make it sound like the Digital World is some messed up game."


	2. The School Monster

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: The Bearers of His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Author's Notes:** Hi everyone! Here's something I haven't done in a while! Two author's notes in the beginning in a row. I'm a little surprised by the number of you who are still with me for this story as it continues. I love you guys for sticking with me and can't wait to hear your thoughts on the story as it continues. Here's some stuff I forgot to mention in the last set of author's notes - the story is going to have plenty of inconsistencies. That's normal. You'll pick up on them right away and that's intended because of the nature of the story; which I can't get into because spoilers. ENJOY!

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: The Bearers of His Name**

 **Chapter 2: The School Monster**

Hikari "Kari" Kamiya walked into the small noodle stall in a quieter end of Shinjuku and parked herself in the first stool she saw. Behind the counter, her childhood friend Davis Motomiya looked up with a smile on his bearded face, "Hey Kari! Usual?"

"Yeah," she nodded, trying to nurse a headache by massaging her temple but still managing a smile for him. Along with being friends since they were kids, they'd dated in the past but broke off their relationship after high school. Their relationship hadn't soured - rather they realized their lives were taking them in different directions. She wanted to be a teacher and was getting ready to go to school while he had made plans to open a small noodle cart that he'd run with his sister as a co-owner. They were still amicable and she'd often come to visit if she'd had a particularly rough day at work.

He slid a bowl of pork chashu ramen her way and asked, "So how's the class? You still having trouble with those two students? What were their names...Takato and Kazuhiro, right?"

"Yeah. Kazu's not interested in anything besides that card game and Takato's...well he's sort of like a weird cross between you and Takeru," she answered before sipping at the broth. Davis raised an eyebrow, "How's that?"

She scratched her head as she thought about how to phrase her answer and said, "It's like he's got TK's dumb luck and his mouth, but he's got your dress sense and attitude. Honestly, I think he has ADHD but I don't want to take him to a doctor on a hunch."

"That bad, huh?" Davis asked, busily wiping down the counter now but still finding the time to add, "But it sounds like he and I would get along. Maybe he's got my looks too."

Kari nodded in agreement, "Yeah, if you hadn't always tried to spike your hair. Today he came in late and tried to sneak in, but it was hard to miss how loud he was being. I caught him right away and then he tried to argue that he didn't do anything wrong - he tried to say we were early!"

Davis laughed at the story, "Damn, I'd sock him if he were my kid."

"Sometimes I want to smack him with the text book," Kari added with just the slightest hint of frustration as she confessed to a hard truth, "Man, I kinda feel bad for all the trouble we caused our teachers when we were that age: sneaking out of class, disappearing for hours at time. At least told our parents what we were doing."

"We had more important things to do," Davis reminded her. Then she fell quiet again. Davis and her stared into each other's eyes - both thinking the same thing but neither wanting to be the one to go there. Then Davis asked, "Do you ever miss them?"

Kari nodded quietly and answered, "Every day. But what good would come of worrying about it? Besides, if you think about it, not seeing them again is sort of a good thing. If we haven't seen them, that means that they're okay and everything's fine, right?"

"What makes you so sure that's true?" he asked. Kari shrugged, ashamed to admit what she truly thought, "Wishful thinking mostly. To be honest, there are day that I'm scared where the whole Digital World is going to hell and we're not there for them."

"Have you heard anything from TK?" Davis asked sheepishly, in his attempt to change the topic but realizing that he'd only brought up another sore topic. Kari paused at that question. She really hadn't - not since his last book came out. It took a while but his novelizations of their adventures became best sellers, spawning a TV show, and a card game that caught on with kids. Despite being a celebrity, he quietly disappeared into obscurity - some people thought he was just working on his next book. But Kari knew better than that - it wasn't like him to disappear, "Not in a while. I worry about him too. He always seemed a little paranoid after...well...but it wasn't like him to just disappear."

Davis stared back at uneasily. So she changed the subject, "How's the wife?"

"She and my sister hang out too much, but our son likes playing with his cousin," Davis answered quietly, "So I can't complain too much about it. Speaking of kids-"

"No," Kari stopped him there, "And we're not discussing that."

Davis paused, realizing he might've stepped too far. And yet, that did nothing to stop him from making it worse, "Then how's the ex?"

Kari wanted to be mad at first. He knew her last break up was also another touchy subject. Then she relented when she considered Davis meant nothing by it. Years after they'd first met and he still wasn't very good with this kind of thing. So she made a joke of it and talked about him instead, "We still talk. He makes me ramen every time I come over and it's always good."

Davis laughed and added, "And he gives it to you half price."

* * *

That evening, Rika went out with her new partner. Thankfully, they lived in a secluded neighborhood and it wasn't hard to get to the local park without getting noticed. Not that it would've mattered because Renamon had some uncanny ability to disappear and reappear at a moment's notice, like she was simply turning invisible.

She took a seat at a nearby bench and asked, "Renamon, why do you need _me_ to become stronger?"

Her partner appeared beside her with arms crossed and explained, "Any digimon can be raised to greatness with a partner. And if your skill is as good as they say, then we can become unstoppable."

"But why?" Rika asked more seriously. Renamon paused as if considering the question before answering, "It is the way of the Digital World. The weak die so the strong may live. New life grows and challenges the strong. That is always how it's been."

Rika raised an eyebrow at that before pointing out, "You make it sound like the Digital World is some messed up game."

"Perhaps," Renamon answered, "But it has been that way for a long time. Since the gates closed and the Digital World was made truly free. There is some semblance of order - strong digimon create their own little kingdoms. But it's ever long before someone else comes along to destroy it. Then the new strong digimon start over with their own lands."

"Sounds rough," Rika nodded just as her digivice started to whistle. She looked down to examine it and jumped in surprise when she saw a new image on screen resembling a radar. And it was pointing her at something, "What gives?"

"I sense a digimon is entering your world," Renamon answered, turning her head in the direction that Rika's radar was beeping. Rika swallowed a forming lump in her throat, shaking from a mix of anticipation and anxiety, "R-right. Let's go."

The two of them ran further into the park, in the direction of a tennis court that was slowly being consumed by a dense fog. Rika pauses and looked at her partner, "Renamon?"

"A Digital Field," Renamon explained, throwing herself forward to defend her partner, "It's how digimon appear in the Human World. Be ready, Rika. We will have to fight!"

"G-got it," Rika nodded, nervous and just as easily excited for her first battle. As the fog grew thicker, her eyes began to sting and she needed to squint just to be able to see clearly. They saw the outline of a digimon that was just a head taller than herself, made taller by the spiky hair atop its head and long gorilla arms. Just by the outline, Rika recognized the digimon, "It's a Goblimon!"

"What should I do, Rika?" her partner asked quickly. Rika looked over at the fox with a stunned look on her face, "You're asking me?"

"You're the tamer, here. Tell me what I need to do to win and I'll do it," Renamon answered. Rika nodded her understanding and watched Goblimon stomp forward angrily. They were both rookies, and one hit would be all Goblimon would need to defeat Renamon. But if she could use that disappearing act of hers to her advantage, she'd be untouchable. She shouted, "Keep moving Renamon! Don't let him touch you!"

"Understood," Renamon took off just as Goblimon brought his club down. As Rika figures, he was too slow to actually keep up with her. And that meant she could put him on the ropes. Goblimon continued to swing his club wildly, chasing Renamon as she leapt around the park. A few times, she would let him get close so that she could kick him before leaping away. As fast as she was, Goblimon was just too strong for her to take down quickly.

She looked down at her digivice. It had been her card reader just last night. It may have changed shape, but there was no reason it wouldn't still work. She didn't have her deck but she did have a few spare cards left over from a booster pack she'd bought earlier that day. When she examined them for the one she needed and found it, she smiled with an intense glee she hadn't felt before. With a quick swipe of the card, Rika shouted, "Strength Boost Activate!"

Goblimon brought his club down on Renamon, and was dismayed to see her catch it between her palms. He was more dismayed as he watched her throw it back full force upon his head. The first hit knocked Goblimon silly. Then Renamon followed through by kicking hard into his chest to push herself into the air. Rika cheered and added, "Alright Renamon! Let's end this!"

Renamon complied and brought her hands together to summon a hundred crystals around her with. She shouted, "Diamond storm!"

The crystals shot themselves at Goblimon, ripping the rookie digimon apart until he disintegrated into a cloud of tiny data specks. The bits and pieces of data hovered in the air and Rika's jaw dropped. It was just like in the shows and books she'd read. Once the Goblimon was defeated, he'd become data. They hadn't mentioned that digimon could absorb it though, which was exactly what Renamon did as the data all coalesced around her. The yellow fox took a moment to steady herself once she finished, and noticed Rika staring at her. The fox put a hand on her shoulder, "Are you alright, Rika?"

"Yeah, just startled," she answered nervously, still trying to process what she saw. Renamon had absorbed the data from the defeated Goblimon. This was nothing like the show or the books. It took her a moment but she was able to steady her nerves and compliment her partner, "Great work."

"Thank you, tamer," she nodded. Rika suddenly felt drained despite not having done much. Maybe it was the adrenaline wearing off after being caught up in the middle of a fight. Either way, all she wanted was to lie down in her bed, "Let's go home."

* * *

Henry unzipped his backpack so that Terriermon could poke his head out to breathe. The little digimon gasped for breath, "Couldn't you have put in a few air holes?"

"Sorry Terriermon. We're in school now so you need to keep quiet," Henry reminded him only for the little digimon to frown, "Can't I make a little noise?"

"Do you want me to start leaving you at home with Suzie?" he asked back. He saw the look of terror on Terriermon's face as he recalled how his little sister had dressed him up in a pink dress and called him Princess Pretty Pants. Henry told him he'd have to hold perfectly still like a doll whenever his family was around. And having to endure his treatment as a doll for his little sister. would've been too much for the digimon. He sighed, "I'll be good. But I want extra helpings of food tonight."

"Deal," Henry answered. Then Terriermon's nose twitched and he turned his head to the side, "Do you smell that?"

"Smell what?" Henry looked around the half empty class nervously. He could smell the kids who'd obviously skipped baths that day but nothing else. Terriermon replies at above a whisper, "I smell a digimon."

Henry looked around nervously, unsure of where his partner would be smelling that that before asking, "Are you sure you're not smelling yourself?"

Terriermon nodded and said at just above a whisper, "Very funny. Wait. That's not good. I smell two."

* * *

Juri made her way to the nurse's office to lie down after a long and tired night left her unable to sleep. She could barely focus in class and Miss Asaji took notice right away. After explaining what happened, the nurse told her to take as much time as she needed to sleep.

Despite being dead tired, Juri found herself unable to fall asleep and ended up laying in bed for a while with her eyes closed. Part of her kept thinking back to that dream she'd had. The strange person who saved her from destiny, and the horrible monster that chased her. What could it all mean?

While she thought on this, she heard the nurse's foot steps as she stepped out for a minute. She was alone now. So why did she hear a rattling noise? Her eyes opened as she looked around the nurse's office. She was alone, except for the soft rattling. Juri raised a curious eyebrow as she followed the noise to its source - the medicine cabinet just above the nurse's desk. She continued on, trying her best to put on a brave face until she was in front of it.

The rattling grew louder inside, and her heart began to race as she considered what could be inside. In fear, she grabbed the first thing she found in reach and armed herself - with a broom. Whatever was in there would find itself in for a world of hurt. She reached out a free hand and slid open the cabinet only to find pill bottles, gauze, and boxes of band aids. She breathed a sigh of relief, glad to see it was just her imagination when she noticed something move just behind the pill bottles.

Something small, with big round eyes staring up at her. It let out a small squeak and flew out of the medicine cabinet - past Juri and scurrying along the floor until it was under the bed. Juri did the only thing she could think of and screamed at the top of her lungs, "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

At that exact moment, the nurse returned from her errand and rushed inside, "What's going on in here?"

Juri pointed under the bed, "A monster! It jumped out of the medicine cabinet and ran under the bed!"

The nurse's face soured, "A monster? Don't be ridiculous! It's probably a rat or something. Give me that!"

She snatched the broom away and made her way over to the bed, "Let's see. Where'd you go? Come out, come out, wherever you are. AH-HAH!"

She jabbed the broom under the bed and rattled it around until the little critter came scurrying out of the bed. It stopped in the middle of the room and seemed to glare at the nurse for a second. Then it spoke, "What was that for you big meany? That hurt!"

Juri's mouth fell open and the nurse dropped the broom in disbelief. Then they shrieked together at the same time, "IT TALKED!"

"RUN!"

Both ran out of the room and slammed the door shut behind them, terrified by whatever it was they just saw. Their screaming attracted attention from the surrounding classrooms and a few teachers came outside to investigate. The commotion even attracted the principal who came to investigate from his office, "What is going on out here?"

"There's a thing in my office!" the nurse explained in a panic, "This thing the size of my head! It crawled out from under the bed!"

"Calm down," the principal said, "It was just a bug. There's no need to cause a scene!"

"It wasn't a bug!" the nurse spat back angrily, "It was hairy!"

"Then it was probably a mouse," he reasoned only to be rebuked, "MICE DON'T TALK! It called me a meanie and it looked right at me."

The principal looked her square in the eye and instructed, "Calm down! Obviously you're stressed and imagined it. Just take a deep breath and-"

"Stressed? Then how do you explain this!" she slid the door open for the principal to look. He stepped inside and took one look around before answering, "I don't see anything. Listen. Why don't you take a break and get some water. Maybe clear your head with a small walk?"

"I didn't imagine it! Juri saw it too, didn't you?" the nurse insisted. The principal looked at Juri with a raised eyebrow before turning his attention back to the nurse, "This has gone on long enough. I order you to end this nonsense and take a break. The same goes for the rest of you! Return to your classes at once."

As the crowd dispersed, Juri looked back into the nurse's office - at the open medicine cabinet and the bed she'd been lying on. Something was off but she couldn't place it. And then she noticed one small detail the principal had missed - the window was open. The monster had gotten out. Before she could point that out, the principal had dragged the nurse into his office and left Juri alone in the hall. Except for one other person - Takato Matsuda.

There was something different about him today, although she couldn't quite place it. Then it hit her! He was wearing a pair of yellow goggles on his head now. When had he gotten those? As she mulled it over, he ran up to her and asked, "Are you all right Juri?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine Takato," she stammered, "I...guess I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

Takato's face twisted into a worried expression and he asked, "What did you see?"

"What?" Juri paused. Takato added, "It didn't happen to look like a dinosaur did it?"

Juri shook her head in surprise by the question, "No...what? Why?"

Takato's face seemed more relaxed but he didn't answer Juri's question. And that made her nervous, "Wait, Takato. Did you have something to do with this?"

"Huh, oh, just curious," Takato answered as he waved her off, "Don't worry about it. I have to um...go help grade homework. No, that's too ridiculous. You'd never buy that. Um...I have to go to the bathroom. I'll see you back in class."

And then he ran off without another word. Juri massaged her temple and looked back into the nurse's office one more time in case something else was there. Nothing. She sighed and made her way back to class, not at all rested and now certain she was losing her mind. Unbeknownst to her, someone else had been listening in on their conversation.

* * *

Henry poked his head around the corner in time for Terriermon to poke his head out of the bag, "What do you think? Are you going to follow the kid?"

"Will you please keep it quiet," Henry reminded his partner only to be asked more quietly, "Well, are you?"

"We should check it out," Henry answered quietly, poking his head out to make sure the coast was clear before following in the direction of the Takato kid. He'd heard of him before. He was something of a troublemaker in his class but never maliciously. It was more like he'd run into trouble and stumble his way out only to get into more trouble. He was sure it was rumors until he'd witnessed the boy lie to another student's face, admit it was a lie, and then come up with a less believable lie. All while talking out loud to the person he was lying to.

As he followed Takato's direction, he quietly asked his partner, "I love the digimon games Terriermon, but I've never heard of a red dinosaur digimon that could fit inside a school."

"Maybe it's a small Tyrannomon?" Terriermon offered.

"That can fit under a bed?" Henry shot back. Terriermon added, "A _very_ small Tyrannomon."

Henry groaned and continued on until he found his way outside, towards the kitchen in a separate building where students would go to help make lunch for their classes. To his delight, and the cooks' dismay, all the food had been eaten for the day as well as several days worth of ingredients. Henry was satisfied to hear that, "I guess that means no stale bread or extra spicy curry for a couple of days. Remind me to thank the digimon whenever we find it."

"That digimon's gotta be as big as a balloon if he ate all that food. There's no way we can miss it," Terriermon added slyly. Henry shook his head, "You said you smelled two digimon, right? This one has got to be unrelated."

"How are you so sure?" Terriermon asked and Henry explained, "I'm supposed to believe one digimon went from the nurse's office to the kitchen, ate that much food and then vanished in the space of about two minutes? Yeah right."

"So where do we go now?" Terriermon asked. Right on cue, Henry noticed Takato sneaking by the kitchen and towards a box that was moving on its own towards the gymnasium. Henry blinked again. So not only was Takato bad at lying, he was bad at hiding his digimon. A large innocuous box that could move would definitely draw more attention. He pointed at it, "We follow that. If Takato has a digimon, we'd better go talk to him."

"This kid has to be terrible at everything he does," Terriermon reasoned.

He ran off and Terriermon yelped inside of his backpack, bouncing around and complaining, "Henry! Slow down! I'm hitting everything in here!"

"We can't lose either of them Terriermon," Henry answered, continuing after the boy and the moving box with a tail. He eventually caught up to Takato standing alone in the middle of the soccer field with one hand scratching the back of his head and mumbling to himself, "How did I lose a box? It's not like it's hard to miss, especially with his tail sticking out. Guilmon, where did you go?"

Henry stopped just short of Takato, noticing the boy still hadn't noticed he was there and tapped him on the shoulder. Takato jumped in surprise, turning to see Henry there and exclaiming, "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Henry raised an eyebrow and folded his arms, trying to decide how to begin, "Hey, did you...lose a digimon?"

"Digimon?"

"Yeah, you said Guilmon," Henry added, "You have a digimon too, don't you?"

"I have a deck of digimon _cards_ ," Takato answered, retrieving a deck of cards from his pocket, "I lost one and I'm trying to find it. It was in a box if you see it."

Henry couldn't believe his ears. Takato was lying to his face. Then again, he had no reason to trust Henry so he tried a different approach and opened up his bag, "It's okay. I have a digimon too. This is my friend Terriermon."

Takato peered into the bag and seemed unimpressed. Henry looked inside the bag and saw Terriermon lying still. Unconscious, probably from having been jostled around inside his bag so much. Takato nodded, "That's a very life like doll you have there. Its cool. Where'd you get it?"

"No, he's just out of it," Henry answered, trying to write his partner, "Terriermon! Terriermon! Come on buddy, don't do this to me. Terriermon."

As he tried to wake his partner in vain, he noticed Takato's eyes shift into something behind him. Then they widened in surprise. He nodded towards Henry, "Must dash. I just saw my friend but we can talk about digimon later. Bye!"

He dashed off and Henry watched him disappear around a corner. Henry sighed and looked back down at Terriermon. He couldn't lose the kid so he slipped Terriermon out of his bag before giving chase again, "Hey wait!"

It was too late by that point. Somehow, he managed to lose Takato just as the boy rounded a corner. Henry had no idea how anyone could move that fast or disappear that quickly. He scanned the school yard again to make sure he hadn't lost them before sighing, and making his way back inside. At that moment, Terriermon jolted awake in his arms, "I'm up! What'd I miss?"

"Not much," Henry answered, "I caught up to Takato but he didn't believe you were real because you were out cold. Then he ran off and I don't know where he went."

"You're not great at this," Terriermon replied matter of factly. Henry groaned and quietly snuck back into the school to avoid drawing any more attention, all while whispering, "You're just as new at this as I am."

"Not really. In the DigiWorld, you'd be dead by now because you can't track and you can't hide," Terriermon replied. This only served to discourage Henry further. In truth, Terriermon was probably the only one who had any knowledge when it would come to this kind of thing. His nose was the one that began the whole tracking thing too.

"Moumantai," Terriermon replied. Henry blinked upon hearing that and looked down at the digimon poking his head out of his bag. He asked, "Where'd you hear that?"

"It's a thing all Terriermon way," he replied, "Some Terriermon a long time ago started saying it. It caught on. Now we all say it."

Henry blinked, recalling a similar line in the digimon books he'd read, "You do know that's a word in the human world, right?"

"Is it?" Terriermon asked curiously, "That sounds silly."

Henry crowned at his partner's carefree attitude, "It's not. It's Cantonese and it means relax. You don't happen to know where that Terriermon learned it, do you?"

"Nah," Terriermon shook his head dismissively, "That Terriermon was alive a long time ago. If they're still around, they'd be as wrinkly as your dad."

Henry stifled a laugh as he made his way back to the classroom.

* * *

At the end of the school day that day, Rika departed her school and wandered over to the nearest park. Mostly, she just wanted to get off the street so she could talk to her partner. She could feel her partner's presence all around her that day. And when her partner suddenly appeared beside her, Rika asked, "How do you do that Renamon? That whole disappearing-reappearing act. It's weird."

"You mean my leaping?" Renamon replied, "I suppose that's how it would seem to you. For me, I'm simply leaping from one place to the next. But it's possible it's too fast for you to properly perceive."

Rika nodded quietly and turned to her partner, "Great. You move so quick that no one can see you do it. That means our enemies will never see what they have coming their way. But that still doesn't mean much if you can't hurt your enemy. Yesterday, Goblimon would've taken you down if I didn't-"

She stopped when Renamon held up a finger and looked off to the side. Rika froze and turned her head in the same direction, unsure of what Renamon had sensed. Then Renamon answered, "Someone is coming. Not a digimon, the smell is different."

"Crap, hide!" Rika began, only to look back and see that Renamon had already vanished - leaving her alone in the woods. Then she looked back in the direction Renamon had stared to see a woman jogging her way. Despite the warm weather they'd had for a few days, this jogger was decked out in thick sweat pants and a sweater. And the heat showed on how heavily she was sweating. Rika stepped back to get out of her way, only to see the woman stop; jogging in place in front of her. She turned her head and asked, "What are you doing out here by yourself sweetheart? It's way too dangerous to be in a park alone."

"Whatever, mind your own business," Rika scowled, annoyed at this woman for even thinking to talk to her. She pocketed her hands and walked in the direction the jogger came down while the jogger continued her jog. Once she'd reached a more secluded area with a shrine, Rika spoke again, "I think we're safe, Renamon."

"Why was that woman running?" her partner asked. Rika mulled the question over and realized Renamon had probably only seen digimon running for their lives, "She was jogging. It's a thing people do. Some people do it for training; but if I had to guess, she was doing it for appearance's sake. She wants to look all pretty and runs to keep the weight off. It's stupid."

"So she runs to make herself appear more beautiful?" Renamon tilted her head in confusion, "Human behavior is weird."

"Tell me about it," Rika sighed in agreement.

* * *

The female jogger reached the other end of the park where an unmarked white van sat on the side of the street. She knocked on its door and it popped open a crack to reveal a blonde haired man in shades and a suit waiting for her. The man asked, "Is the park clear, Tally?"

"Mostly. One little girl but she should be out of there by now. I told her to leave," the jogger replied. The man nodded and slid the door wide open so that a team in full hazmat suits could step out. Three of them carried Geiger-counters while the other two were armed with assault rifles. The man in shades instructed, "Scan the park and secure the target. We need it alive so non-lethal shots only. And move fast. I don't want Burnt Leaf interfering in this operation again."

"Yes sir," the men said as they rushed into the forest. The blonde haired man removed his shades and massaged the bridge of his nose. The woman looked back at him and asked, "Are you alright, sir?"

"Yes, just another long night. And I think I see another one coming," he replied quietly, "Whenever we get back to headquarters, make some coffee."

"Of course sir," she nodded, looking back into the park and wondering what their chances were. They'd lost plenty of operatives in operations like this. Hopefully, they wouldn't lose another.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Who are these strange men and what are they after in the park? Will Rika and Renamon be okay? What was the strange creature that Juri found in the nurse's office? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name which comes out next Friday January 18th at 8 PM CST. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section - I love all your thoughts and constructive criticism too! Don't forget to favorite the story to show support and follow to keep up with all the latest updates! And don't forget, the story is now crossposting to Archive of Our Own if that site is more your style. That's all for now, so let's jump right into previews for the next chapter:

She paused, turning her head and stating, "Five more just entered the park. No, there's six."

"More digimon?" she asked. Renamon shook her head and began, "No. More humans. I think. This feels different. We should go."

"Why?" Rika asked just as her partner vanished. Rika stood up and looked around her, unsure of what her partner had defected to get her so worked up. The forest surrounding the shrine was coear and that made Rika nervous. Just as she was sure her partner had imagined things, she heard a rustling in the bushes behind her. She spun around and called out, "Who's there? Come out!"

When she got no reply, she called again, "I'm not kidding! Come out!"

Still nothing. She picked up a stone from the ground and threw it into the bushes. She heard a yelp and a short boy with a blue hoodie and khaki shorts poked his head out. What immediately struck Rika was the pair of yellow goggles he was wearing on his head. With tears in his eye, the boy massaged his head and grumbled, "Ow! What was that for?"


	3. Goggle Headed Moron

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 3: Goggle Headed Moron**

Rika massaged her temple as she went on explaining the concept of physical appearances to her partner, "Some people get really obsessed with appearances. It's really dumb. As if that actually matters."

Renamon tilted her head, "That sounds like something you'd say, tamer."

"Why do you keep calling me that?" Rika asked in annoyance, folding her arms behind her head, "My name is Rika. Why do you keep calling me tamer?"

Renamon tilted her head, "But isn't that-"

She paused, turning her head and stating, "Five more just entered the park. No, there's six."

"More digimon?" she asked. Renamon shook her head and began, "No. More humans. I think. This feels different. We should go."

"Why?" Rika asked just as her partner vanished. Rika stood up and looked around her, unsure of what her partner had defected to get her so worked up. The forest surrounding the shrine was calm and that made Rika nervous. Just as she was sure her partner had imagined things, she heard a rustling in the bushes behind her. She spun around and called out, "Who's there? Come out!"

When she got no reply, she called again, "I'm not kidding! Come out!"

Still nothing. She picked up a stone from the ground and threw it into the bushes. She heard a yelp and a short boy with a blue hoodie and khaki shorts poked his head out. What immediately struck Rika was the pair of yellow goggles he was wearing on his head. With tears in his eye, the boy massaged his head and grumbled, "Ow! What was that for?"

"What are you doing skulking around in the bushes, gogglehead?" Rika asked with a pointed finger. The boy stood up, shooting her a dirty look as he massaged his head, "I lost...something and I'm looking for it. What's your deal? Is throwing stones how you normally greet people? It's rude and hurts the other person. Not a great way to make friends."

Rika felt her blood boil at that, "You can talk, gogglehead. I bet you get a lot of friends skulking around in the bushes like that."

"I said I'm looking for something. You haven't happened to see a box wandering around have you?" he asked back innocently enough, gesturing out its size with his hands. Rika raised an eyebrow, "A box?"

"You know: brown, cardboard, kinda flimsy but surprisingly sturdy for some reason. Probably a few dents from bumping into things. It's big enough to hide...I mean hold...it's big," he rambled off nonspecifically. She clicked her tongue in frustration, "Yeah, I know what a box is, you idiot."

"You don't have to call me names," the boy replied sheepishly. Rika put a hand on both of her hips and complained, "I'll call you whatever I want. What's the big deal about this box anyway? And if it's so big, why are you looking for it in the bushes?"

"In case it dug a hole," he replied quickly. Rika's face twisted into a scowl, "What did you lose? A dog?"

"Would you believe a fire breathing red dinosaur from another world that can talk?" he asked sheepishly. Rika's eyes narrowed as she considered the possibility. He couldn't be but it sounded like he was talking about a digimon. But where would he get a digimon? As far as she knew she was the only one with a partner. Then again, the books did say there were always more than one child with a digimon partner. But she didn't dare reveal that to him without risking the chance that he would tell someone who would get her in trouble. She chose her words carefully, "What...like a digimon card?"

"Something like that," he replied as he kept looking around. Rika massaged her temple to nurse the growing headache she was getting from talking to this idiot, not knowing what other answer she was expecting. If he had a digimon, why would he tell her? Then again, if he had a digimon partner, he couldn't be a good partner to have lost it already. This kid was more annoying than she wanted to deal with, "That card is long gone by now, moron. Give up!"

"Name calling is not very p...oh, hello. Are those friends of yours?"

He pointed off just behind her at a pair of men advancing their way. Two things struck her right away - the large white hazmat suits they were wearing and the assault rifle one of them was holding. She gasped and leapt into the bushes right away as they stepped up to the temple she had been standing in front of. The goggle headed boy asked, "So they're not friends?"

"Why would they be my friends?" Rika hissed at just a whisper, growing increasingly annoyed with the boy. He shrugged, "I don't know your life story. I was trying not to judge. But if they're not friends of yours, then I hope you don't mind if I do this."

"What are you doing?" she hissed. He picked up a stone beside them and threw it as hard as he could at a tree on the opposite side of the temple. The two men turned to face the noise, and the boy grabbed a hold of her hand and whispered, "While they're distracted. Let's get out of here."

Before she could even try to come up with a protest to holding her hand, they took off at a sprint away from the temple. She was about to gasp but realized that this would only make the weird men look back at them, so she grit her teeth and followed this weird goggle headed kid through the trees until they came out on the other side of the park.

It was only when they were safely away from the park that Rika snapped her wrist free of the boy and demanded, "What gives? What's your deal!?"

He hardly noticed her complaint, instead scratching the back of his head, "Well that's not good. What would a bunch of guys be doing walking around dressed like that?"

Rika has an idea but she didn't dare say anything with This weirdo around. Instead she looked back into the park, wondering if Renamon was okay in there by herself. She hoped so. The last thing she wanted was to lose her partner in a worse way than this kid just had. What kind of partner would that make her to be less competent than the kid wearing goggles?

Before she could think of a response, the kid dashed back in. She stood there dumb struck by his bravery before following him back in, "Where are you going!? You just ran away and now you're running back in?"

"I can be very indecisive, what's your excuse?" he asked back at her, continuing into the park and straight back into the trees. Rika tried her best to keep up with the boy but slowly fell behind. She wasn't out of shape but any means but his smaller build made it easier for him to move through the trees and brush. Before she knew it, she'd lost him in the brush. Then she stopped, looking around in disbelief and stamping her foot in frustration, "Where'd he get to? Forget it. Renamon? Renamon!? Where are you?"

* * *

Renamon moved through the trees and retreated up to a safe distance among the branches, while her partner began talking to a strange boy in a blue hoodie below. She turned head curiously, unsure of what to think of this new boy who'd just appeared out of nowhere. Although she was too high up to see, she could hear what they were saying perfectly - and felt nothing short of concern for her partner's safety and well being during it.

Just by listening, she could tell the boy was looking for a digimon. But this new world had thrown off her senses. She was unable to properly smell any dangers until they were nearby. If they were too far away, this digimon could easily get the drop on her before she would be able to do anything about it.

Then she watched her partner disappear just as more humans appeared, and she followed after them to make sure she stayed safe. The boy and Rika hid in the bushes, before he threw a stone to distract the other humans and they ran off. She pondered what this meant - since her partner had never done anything to indicate she was nervous or scared before. So why was she scared now? Who were those people. They seemed like ordinary humans as far as she was concerned. Yes, they were dressed weird, but all humans dressed weird as far as she could tell. Why not just go about as they were?

Then she paused when she smelled a new scent - one she didn't recognize. It was a digimon, but it was wrapped in the scent of the human world. It reeked of humans, their food, their clothes, everything. She turned towards the scent and witnessed a small imp like creature wearing a red scarf and matching gloves staring at her from a higher branch. Despite its appearance, the digimon was weaker than anything she'd come up against.

"Who are you?" she asked. The imp-like digimon, "Sorry toots, but I don't go aroun' givin' out my name just cos' a pretty face asked. Especially to no digimon who don't respect themself enough to decide to work with humans."

Renamon thought about that statement for a second, confused by the number of negatives in his statement and then asked, "Wait - you don't like digimon who have human partners or you do like digimon with human partners?"

The little digimon ignored her question and leapt down to get a closer look at her with his hand on is chin, "Why do you work with that human anyways? Them humans are more trouble than they's worth. They don't actually care about you, y'know? All they care about is whatever you can do for 'em. Once they don't need you no more, they'll leave."

"That's fine with me," Renamon replied, noting the surprised look on this digimon's face, "All I want is to get stronger anyway. Something is coming - something that's sent the whole of the Digital World into a panic. And only the strong will survive."

"It's not the strong who'll survive sweet heart," the digimon teased with a stuck out tongue, "I've learned a few things while I've been wandering the human world. The first is that the strongest don't survive. It's the smartest who do - if you want to get any where in this world, you've gotta be smart. And I don't mean like with 'em books. You can have that nugget of advice fo' free."

"That advice is noted," Renamon folded her arms, "Now who are you?"

"Ah-ah!" The digimon wagged its finger with a smile, "What's yours?'

Renamon turned her head, curious of this digimon before answering, "Renamon."

"Hmph," the digimon smirked mischievously, "Not a smart move Renamon. Then again, I can tell yous a new digimon 'round here. So I'll make it even - the name's Impmon."

"Impmon," Renamon repeated quietly as the little imp digimon made his way, "Last nugget of advice: ditch the human. You don't need 'em."

He leapt away, leaving her along to ponder the meaning of his words. Impmon was odd although perhaps not the oddest digimon she's met. Most of them usually just attacked on sight so this was a welcome change. It did leave her wondering just what this digimon had been doing in this world without a human partner. Or did he have one that he chose to ignore?

She would have to ruminate on those questions later as another noise caught her attention - the arrival of more human dressed oddly meant that she had to move again or risk being spotted by them. she leapt away from one tree branch to another, trying to put as much distance between her and these men. She retreated further away into the park - then froze as her sense went crazy. She could feel it - another digimon was coming.

And Rika was all alone in the middle of it. She stopped in her tracks to examine the humans again - against her better judgment, she went after her partner. She couldn't just abandon her to whatever was coming.

* * *

Rika looked up and down the trees for the danger but couldn't find anything - no goggle headed boy and no Renamon any where. There weren't even any of the strangely dressed men with guns and weird tools anymore. It didn't seem possible because the park was so small, but there was no other way for her to describe it. She was lost. Lost in a park she'd been to dozens of times before with no familiar sights around to guide her. She looked upward to see if she could make out any buildings that she could use as landmarks to get her bearing but saw only clouds.

Thick white clouds.

That wasn't right. It had been sunny just moments ago. Where did the clouds come from? She got her answer when her digivice began to alarm and whir. She retrieved from her pocket, trying to turn the alarm off but noticing that the radar on it was active again. And it said there was a digimon appearing nearby. She panicked, realizing what was about to happen and called out, "Renamon!"

Renamon appeared beside her, rapidly gasping for breath, "I'm here. I'm glad I found you and that you're alright!"

"What took you so long?" Rika grumbled as she tried to focus on what was ahead of her. The fog encroaching on them was beginning to hurt her eyes and made seeing difficult, "I hope you brought your A-game because there's a digimon coming."

"I can sense it Rika. And whatever it is, it's hungry. It isn't coming to grow stronger, it's coming to find its next meal."

Rika clicked her tongue angrily, "Well whatever it is, it just bit off more than it can chew! Let's make sure it chokes."

"Was…was that supposed to sound cool?" Renamon looked back at her partner. Rika scoffed at the idea that it wasn't, "What do you mean supposed?"

The fact that Renamon didn't answer and instead looked ahead annoyed Rika - but not enough to actually do anything about it. They still had to face whatever was coming through from the Digital World. At that exact moment, an image appeared on the screen to reveal, "Dokugumon, that spider digimon with the nasty bite. Of course that's the one that's trying to get through."

As soon as she said those words, the spider digimon appeared before through the fog - an eight legged monster with more fangs than she wanted to count and long flowing red hair coming out of its yellow helmet. The spider saw them right away and hissed, "FOOD!"

"Renamon! Show it what you've got!" Rika commanded.

"Of course," Renamon raced ahead and leapt into the air, summoning a hail of crystals that rained down upon them, "DIAMOND STORM!"

The crystals fell on their target, burying themselves into its body but failing to do anything to slow it down. In fact, it seemed like all they'd really managed to accomplish was annoying their target more than anything. The spider advanced on Renamon and cackled with delight, "I like it when my food puts up a fight! It makes it taste better!"

Renamon wasn't intimidated by the spider's taunt and advanced instead to fight the digimon head on - leaping up to kick and scratch at its head. The spider tried to keep up, and its many legs gave it all the advantage it needed to keep up with Renamon's speed. But that just made it more of a challenge for Rika and for Renamon.

And Rika knew exactly the kind of card she'd need for this scenario, "Agility Boost Activate!"

Right away, Renamon's movements became faster and more precise, as she dove and weaved through Dokugumon's many legs to keep her distance. All this did was annoy the spider further as it tried grabbing at its meal more in vain. With each attempt at a grab, Rika noticed that Dokugumon was slowing down until Renamon was simply side stepping each attack. They had worn it down. Now was the easy part - ending it.

She was about to shout out her next command when Dokugumon cried out, "POISON THREAD!"

A sticky web shot out of the end of her mouth and wrapped up Renamon - pinning her to the side of a tree. Rika gasped in shock, surprised to see her partner immobilized so easily and unsure of what to do now, "Renamon! What gives? How did that hit you? You're moving twice as fast as that is!"

"I'm sorry Rika," Renamon grunted, trying to free herself while Dokugumon paused to catch her breath. She looked between the two, contemplating what she should do to help while Renamon declared, "I'll try to break free."

"DINNER TIME!" Dokugumon growled ecstatically, moving into consume her partner. Rika groaned, shuffling through her deck as quickly as she could to find some way to help Renamon break free. Unfortunately, she couldn't think of anything that could and nothing in her deck seemed like it would be of any use. Her panic turned into a full blown terror as she watched Dokugumon stop just short of Renamon and stick out a long slimy tongue to lick Renamon, "So tasty."

"When I get out of here, I'm going to enjoy destroying you!" Renamon hissed bitterly at the digimon. Dokugumon seemed amused by her empty threat and looked ready to savor the moment. She opened her mouth wide to take her first big bite out of Renamon's face, and was promptly leapt upon by a strange red dinosaur with what looked like bat wings for ears.

Rika and Renamon found their jaws falling open as the dinosaur tackled Dokugumon from the side, making the large digimon roll over and thrash violently as it tried to throw the new opponent off its back. Still, nothing Dokugumon could do would shake the digimon off - and the red digimon was in some kind of crazed frenzy as it attacked the digimon viciously. It didn't care at all about either Renamon or Rika - only Dokugumon and ripping it apart apparently.

Rika stared down at her digivice, hoping it would provide some kind of clue about what she was looking at. But so far - nothing. Her digivice displayed something that looked like an error message but in some kind of language she couldn't understand. This dinosaur was terrifying to look at - something that was more monstrous and violent than the Dokugumon trying to eat her partner.

Then the dinosaur leapt off of Dokugumon's back and growled at it. Dokugumon seemed taken aback by it - trying to process this new digimon that had run into danger to save another. While it was distracted, Rika ran to help free her partner. Renamon struggled against the web, "Rika, the bindings are too strong."

"Yeah, I know," Rika grunted, pulling at the webs to free Renamon, "Gah, what is this made of?"

"Have you tried using scissors?"

Rika and Renamon looked over to see the boy in the blue hoodie again holding up a pair of scissors with a dumb smile on his face. Rika's jaw dropped but then she snatched the scissors out of his hand and started cutting away the web, "Where'd you go goggle head?"

"I found the box," the boy replied with a half smile, picking up a rock from the ground and slamming it into the tree to try and tear off some of the bark, "Of course, it helped that it followed all the fighting and screaming."

Rika looked over her shoulder at the large red digimon ripping apart Dokugumon with his claws, "The box? You mean that weird digimon over there? How could you lose track of a box big enough to fit that thing?"

"Well first, he followed me to school," the boy began, "Freaked out the principal and the staff. Then I ran into this other kid who tried to show me his doll. I think it was a doll anyway. Might've been a digimon. Oh, and then I had to ditch school to find my partner. Today has been weird."

"You're one to talk," Rika complained, managing to pry off the last bit of webbing and helping her partner down, "Can't you even control your partner?"

"In my defense: he was only born this morning," the boy offered sheepishly, stepping back so that the fox could stretch her limbs. Rika eyed her partner to be sure she could stand before asking, "Are you ready to get back into the fight, Renamon?"

"Yes," she nodded, pulling the remaining webbing off of herself. Rika gestured ahead at Dokugumon, "Good, because you're looking bad in front of the new guy. You'd better give 110%!"

"Understood," Renamon raced back into the fight and kicked Dokugumon from the side. It was two on one now, and Dokugumon looked annoyed at the targets in front of it. It didn't help that Dokugumon was already tired from the fight with Renamon earlier. Now that it was two on one, they would have this in the bag.

Just as she was about to help Renamon with another card, the weird goggle-headed kid ran out into the middle of the fight waving his arms to get his partner's attention, "Guilmon! That's enough! Stop! Guilmon!"

The red dinosaur barely registered him until he was about a foot away, at which point it's glare turned into a dopey smile and it turned away from the fight. In a more playful tone and a voice that sounded like it was coming from its nose, the digimon called out, "Oh! Hi Takatomon! Is it time for food?"

"What're you two doing!?" Renamon snapped at them, turning away just long enough for Dokugumon to get a free swing. Thankfully, Renamon noticed in time to get out of the way of Dokugumon's leg, "Seriously, this isn't the time for this!"

"You're right!" The boy answered, "We should get out of here!"

"Why?" Rika demanded.

"OVER THERE! OPEN FIRE!"

Rika groaned at the timing and her luck, seeing the oddly dressed men finally appear through the fog with their guns. Renamon had already retreated to Rika's side, and the boy ran past with his dinosaur partner, "What're you waiting for? Run! I mean us! RUN!"

Rika didn't argue this time, watching as the men surrounded Dokugumon and continued shooting. Their bullets didn't appear to be hurting it, but it was distracting it enough for a few other men to start holding up magnets at the creature. And Dokugumon actually retreated away - becoming disoriented and toppling over.

She didn't see what happened next though, as the fog became too thick the further they ran. They made it through the fog and stopped just short of the park exit where a large cardboard box lay on its side with a small hole cut out for the eyes.

The boy threw the box over the dinosaur and said, "Here you go buddy. And don't get lost this time - I can't go chasing you around the school again. Oh crap, I just ditched school."

"Shut up!" Rika snapped at this mile a minute motor mouth in frustration, "Just...let me think for a second."

"One," The boy counted and turned to leave, "Time's up. Let's get out of here."

"No you don't!" Rika stamped her foot on the ground, "Who are you? Who were those guys!? What do you mean he was born this morning? Just...WHAT?"

The boy pocketed his hands sheepishly in his hoodie and examined her curiously, unnerving Rika even more. What was wrong with this kid? Eventually he nodded as if he were approving of something and answered, "I'm...Takato Matsuda."

"Okay Takato," Rika began, more annoyed now than before, "Are you going to answer the rest of my questions?"

"In no particular order: I'm just as confused as you, I made Guilmon, and I have no idea who they are. Well, I guess I didn't make him, he just sort of appeared," Takato paused as if he were contemplating his answers, "Any way, we should probably get out of here if we don't want those guys to follow us."

"And how exactly are you going to hide that big dumb thing?" Rika asked, pointing at the box with the hole for the eyes, "It's not exactly subtle. Anyone with half a brain is going to ask what's inside it."

Takato opened his mouth a few times as he tried to respond to that, "What's your name?"

"What?"

"Your name? I gave you mine, it's only fair," Takato reasoned. Rika frowned, not sure if she was more annoyed with the fact that he'd ask or the fact that he didn't recognize her. She didn't think of herself as a celebrity but she'd hope that she was still recognizable in the circle of geeks who played card games. Although she wasn't a geek herself...she wasn't interested in any geek stuff. Digimon didn't count. She shook her head and replied, "Rika."

She paused when she realized which name she gave. Only Ryo and Renamon could call her Rika. So what was this deal? She'd lose face if she corrected herself now and said to call her Ruki instead. And there was no way she was giving her real name. Takato noticed her unease and waved his hand to get her attention, "Nice to meet you Rika. This was fun but we've gotta run. Guilmon has to get back to his hiding spot and I've gotta get back in class before anyone notices I'm gone. Oh who am I kidding - they all know I'm gone."

All the same, the two turned on the spot and wandered off without so much as a word after that. Rika was left standing there stumped, "What was with that kid?"

"I thought you two got along quite well, actually."

"Don't ever say that about him ever again. He's a weirdo!" Rika complained. Renamon crossed her arms, "My experience with humans is limited at most - but between his behavior and the way those other humans dressed - I'd say that you're the weirdo. You're the odd one out."

Those were exactly the words she need to hear to shoot Renamon a death glare, "Don't ever say that ever again."

"I'm sorry. I'll take my leave now," Renamon took a bow and leapt away. Rika was alone now with just her thoughts. And she had a lot to think about. There were other humans with digimon partner's in this world, but what for? Renamon came here to get stronger but Takato said he made Guilmon. What did that even mean?

* * *

The soldiers caged the captured spider monster and covered it in a tarp, keeping magnets nearby to contain it. Then they lifted it onto a flatbed truck set to transport it back to their headquarters all while they were observed by Yamaki Mitsuo. Yamaki was relieved to see they'd acquired their first live specimen in a long time and quickly placed a phone call to one of his superiors - the Defense Minister.

It rang a few times before someone finally picked up, "This better be good Yamaki. I was in the middle of a meeting."

Yamaki knew right away that he was talking about his extramarital affair. There were no meetings on the schedule today. But he chose to say nothing - he'd wanted to save that card for a scenario when he'd need it. He explained, "I'm calling to say we just caught a wild one in a park in Shinjuku. We're moving it to a containment facility now."

"Shinjuku? Why didn't you inform me Yamaki?"

"It was moving and manifesting before we had time to notify anyone. But don't worry sir. I took care of it."

"You filed the right paperwork, right?"

"Yes sir. And we already had approval for this from the Program Morpheus," Yamaki answered quietly. The minister snapped, "Please tell me you didn't just say that out loud in public."

Yamaki frowned, forgetting where he was for a moment but acted like nothing happened anyway, "We already secured the area, sir. We'll contact you again once it's back at the base. We're continuing to stay on top of the situation."

"What about Burnt Leaf? They haven't appeared yet, have they?"

Yamaki took a look around the park before answering, "They're not here yet. Which makes it all the more important that we move quickly."

"Good. I'll be waiting."

Yamaki closed the phone and rejoined the rest of his crew as they finished securing the cage to the truck. The men then saluted and made their way to the van they came in on. Yamaki took one last glance up and down the street. If Burnt Leaf was here, they were maintaining a very low profile. It was important they get out of here as soon as possible.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** And so concludes another chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name. Who are these strange men and what are they going to do with the digimon? What is Impmon's game? And what is Burnt Leaf's involvement? Find out all these and more in the next chapter of The Tamer due out in two weeks on Friday February 1st at 8 PM CDT! If you guys loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I love hearing your thoughts and answering them as soon as I'm able. And hey, don't forget to follow/favorite the story to keep up with all the latest updates. I'm glad you guys are enjoying the story so far and hope you all are looking forward to how it ends. That's all for now, let's look at previews for the next chapter:

"DAD!" Henry protested immediately, only to see Xiaochun fitting Terriermon into a dress while singing to herself, "Princess Prissypants! Princess Prissypants! She loves her prissy pants! She loves her dress dance!"

His dad crossed his arms disapprovingly, "Henry, I'm not an idiot! You give that doll back to whichever girl you took that from tomorrow."

"Dad, I didn't steal...wait, why do you think it's a girl?" Henry paused. Unfortunately for him, each moment was just going to keep on getting worse for him, "Henry, I was your age once. Stealing a girl's things isn't the way to get her attention."

"WHAT!?"

His brother teased, "Jianliang's got a girlfriend. Jianliang's got a girlfriend! Woo!"


	4. Calumon

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 4: Calumon**

Henry returned home to his family's apartment and was immediately greeted by his little sister Xiaochun, "Henry! Henry! I can't find Miss Princess Prissy Pants! Do you know where she is?"

He could already feel Terriermon tossing and turning in his bag uneasily and couldn't blame the poor digimon. But he needed to pacify his little sister before she started throwing a fuss. As much as he hated it, he had to take Terriermon out of his bag, "I took Princess Prissy Pants to school with me so she could see the school."

The look of betrayal on Terriermon's eyes were apparent and he mouthed his best apology before handing him over to his little sister. He didn't want to, but what was he supposed to do when his little sister was practically begging to throw a fit in front of his family. He was just glad no one was there to see it.

"Aren't you a little old to be playing with dolls, Jianliang?"

He thought too soon. He looked over to see his older brother Rinchei just leaving the kitchen with a bag of chips. He sat himself down on the couch, where little Xiaochun joined him, "Rinchei! Rinchei! Look! Princess Prissy Pants needs a diaper!"

"Yeah he does," Rinchei observed. Henry felt worse for his partner now but was still powerless to do anything besides watch as he was dressed in a diaper and a bow. He thought it couldn't get more awkward until Rinchei asked, "Where'd you even get that doll anyway? I don't remember mom or dad ever getting it for you."

"Dad got it for me," he lied.

"I think I'd remember buying that for you son," their father answered as he entered the room, also from the kitchen with a bag of chips. Today was the day that kept on giving for Henry - he had no idea how he was going to convince his dad that he got Terriermon for him. He racked his brain and came up with nothing - what was he supposed to say? He couldn't think of anything. His long pause actually made things worse for him as his father raised an eyebrow, "Who'd you steal it from?"

"DAD!" Henry protested immediately, only to see Xiaochun fitting Terriermon into a dress while singing to herself, "Princess Prissypants! Princess Prissypants! She loves her prissy pants! She loves her dress dance!"

His dad crossed his arms disapprovingly, "Henry, I'm not an idiot! You give that doll back to whichever girl you took that from tomorrow."

"Dad, I didn't steal...wait, why do you think it's a girl?" Henry caught that last comment and thought it was odd. And the congo line of misfortune continued for him as his dad answered, "Henry, I was your age once. Stealing a girl's things isn't the way to get her attention."

"WHAT!?"

His brother teased, "Jianliang's got a girlfriend. Jianliang's got a girlfriend! Woo!"

"Shut up Rinchei!" he snapped back. Unfortunately, this didn't stop his dad from going on, "You need to take a more delicate approach. And more than that - you need to talk to them. I know the other boys your age will make fun of you but they'll stop when they realize you were ahead of the curve. Besides, girls like boys with self confidence."

Henry's head spun as he tried to process everything his dad was telling him, "Dad! No! Stop! I don't want to have this conversation any more."

"If you don't return that doll, she'll never talk to you again," his dad warned. That was it. Henry got up and went to his room, "I'll be on my computer! Don't bother me!"

He put extra emphasis into slamming the door to make sure that his dad got the message. In hindsight, it probably also made him look extra childish. He ran a hand through his hair as he tried to think of a way to explain this to his parents but couldn't come up with anything. It was at that moment he realized he'd left Terriermon outside with his little sister. He hated to admit it but there was no way he'd be able to save the little digimon now without having to talk to his father again. And there was no way he was going to walk into a 'birds and bees' conversation with his dad. Or worse, his mom.

He sighed and set his bag down before flopping onto his bed. Computer games could wait for now. Besides, his mind still raced to that Takato kid from earlier. He had a digimon too. And he'd let it loose in the school. Either that or it followed him without his knowledge. Whatever the case, that could only mean more digimon were appearing in the Real World. The question was why? What was so special about the Real World? What was so special about him, Jianliang Lee? What was so special about Takato?

He tried to recall anything he could from the books and the show. Maybe that would shed some light on things. The story went that the kids had been chosen by destiny...the 'chosen children' or the 'digidestined'. They were the saviors chosen by some dead race to finish something they'd started. But he wasn't a digidestined. At least, he didn't think he was. He was just some kid whose digimon came crawling out of his computer. Which raised another question in his head: if the digimon in the stories were real, were the digidestined real? And if so, where were they?

He tried to contemplate ever possibility in his head but each idea was crazier than the last. The story ended with four of them becoming like celebrities - the one who went to space and was a rockstar, the fashion designer married him, the actress and model, and one who wrote their story. Did that mean the author of the story actually lived through everything he wrote about? As he recalled, the author simply disappeared after his second novel so there was no one to ask. According to the novel, the rest of them went back to their normal lives. A lawyer, a detective, a scientist, a programmer, a doctor, a school teacher, and a ramen maker. Maybe one of the teachers at his school was the teacher in the books? Yeah right. It wasn't like an answer was going to fall onto his lap.

CRASH!

Henry looked over to see a little white digimon with large pointy ears come crashing through his window and onto his lap. The little digimon flailed and yelped, "Ah! Get off me! Dumb birds! What did I ever do to you? I mean, yeah, I ate those nuts. But they looked so good and I was so hungry! Anyway, I'm sorry. I promise I'll get more! Just stop eating me!"

"Whoa! Calm down," Henry said, as he went to close his bedroom window, "It's raining digimon all of sudden. Who are you?"

"Huh?" The little digimon looked up long enough to realize where he was and seemed to calm down. With big wide eyes, he asked, "Who are you? What is this place?"

Henry pointed out, "It's my bedroom. What're you doing here? What do birds have to do with anything?"

The little digimon hopped onto his small legs and bounced happily, "Yay! I got away from those mean birds! Hooray! And you helped me!"

"Who even are you?" Henry asked again, beginning to lose patience with this little digimon who was just slightly more annoying than the other kid from earlier today. The digimon stopped bouncing and said, "I'm Calumon, mister. What's your name?"

"I'm Henry. What are you doing here, Calumon?" Henry asked, still trying to pry more answers from the small digimon. The digimon turned his head and Henry only now noticed the big eyes that the digimon had. With eyes that big and a personality that cheerful, he was convinced that Calumon must've been an In-Training at best. But all of that was nothing compared to the odd symbol on the digimon's head - an upside down red triangle flanked on all sides by three upright black triangles.

He tried to recall where he's seen the symbol before but couldn't think of any book, game, show or card that had that symbol. The digimon answered, "I don't know. I was just trying to run from this really mean guy until he ran into another mean guy. Then there was this big flash and I ended up here. Then I met these two who were trying to eat each other with their mouths at the same time, and a funny looking one with black glasses. Then these dumb birds showed up. And then I ended up here. But now I'm safe! Thanks mister!"

"I meant, why are all you digimon showing up in our world? How are you getting here out of the Digital World?"

"You mean we're not in the Digital World?" Calumon asked innocently enough. Henry nodded and the digimon shrugged, "Oh well. I think those birds are gone now. Hey! Let's play a game! It's called tag! You're it!"

Calumon tapped Henry's nose with his little hand and then ran for the window. Despite his small size, the little digimon was strong enough to pry the window open before leaping outside, "Catch me if you can!"

"Hey, wait!" Henry tried to protest but it was already too late. The little digimon was gone, and there was nothing he could do to get the digimon back. Henry sighed, cursing his luck. Then the door knocked, "Henry, what's all that noise?"

His dad. Thankfully, this would be easier to explain than Terriermon had been a small moment ago, "It's nothing dad. It's just my game."

He ran to his computer just in time to pretend to be turning it off in a fit of anger when his dad came into the room. His father eyed him suspiciously, as if looking for any kind of discrepancy before noting the window, "Why'd you open the window?"

"You know the computer gets hot in here when I'm playing my games dad," Henry answered quickly, hoping that he was at least buying the answers. After a few moments, his dad noted, "I think I'm going to stop buying you games with so much violence in them. They're making you too angry and I don't like that. I'm not raising a delinquent for a son."

* * *

Juri came to class later than she usually did, but still in time to avoid the bell. But that wasn't the weirdest thing she saw that day. It was Takato on time for once, talking to his friends Kazu and Kenta. Kazu chided, "Hey Takato! I meant to ask: what's with the goggles? What, you think you're a digidestined all of a sudden?"

"Digi-what? Oh, right. That," Takato replied sheepishly; further encouraging Kazu's admonishments, "Come on man. Don't give me that. You're going to start wearing goggles and pretend you don't know what a digidestined is? It's not like you have a digimon!"

"I do too!" Takato blurted out, his face turning bright red. Kazu laughed, "Yeah right, dork."

"No, you're right. I don't have one," Takato admitted quietly, turning his head away from them. Juri went straight for her desk and set her things down, but couldn't help but listen in on the boys as they continued arguing, "Wait, why'd you change your story all of a sudden?"

"No reason. I lied. You caught me."

"Takato, you don't actually have a digimon," Kenta said although it sounded like he was trying to ask a question. Takato nodded, "That's what I said."

Both Kenta and Kazu groaned, "No, it's the way you said it. You said it weird."

"No I didn't."

"Dude, you suck at lying. Do you have a digimon or don't you?"

"I have digimon cards."

Both boys were frazzled now and they surrounded Takato at his desk. Kazu crossed his arms and leaned in so close that Takato had to lean back, "Look me in the eye and say you don't have a digimon."

Takato's silence and the fact that he didn't look either of them in the eye was all the answer either of them needed. Kenta loudly concluded, "You have a digimon!"

Takato groaned and went to bury his face in his desk while he was swarmed by both Kazu and Kenta furiously prodding him with questions. That confirmation was all Juri needed though. Takato had a digimon. Or something like a digimon. And she wondered if it had anything to do with the monster she saw yesterday. After all, Takato was the one who asked about the box once they were out of the way.

"Where did it come from?"

"How did you get a digimon?"

"Who is it? Agumon?"

"Nah, he's too dory to get Agumon. He's definitely got a Veemon!"

"Can we not talk about this?" Takato bemoaned, propping his head up from his desk for the briefest moment to shut them up before returning to rest his head. This didn't stop either boy from trying to get more information out of Takato about who his digimon was. Naturally, Juri wanted to know as well but her attention was pulled away when Nanami came up to her desk, "Juri! How are you doing?"

"Huh, oh, fine. How are you?" Juri answered quickly, trying to look like she hadn't been eavesdropping. Nanami placed a hand on her head, "Are you sure? You look spooked. You've looked spooked ever since that monster in the nurse's office. Even the nurse was spooked, remember? Oh, I heard she's going to get the can by the way. The school's going to make her retire so that they don't have to deal with a nurse who sees monsters."

"I know what I saw," Juri frowned, and Nanami agreed, "I believe you Juri. But the school didn't believe the nurse. They're not going to believe you or anything you say. I'm just looking out for you, Juri. I wouldn't bring up whatever you saw with the teachers ever again."

"I guess," Juri frowned. At that exact moment, Miss Asaji came in and class began. However, Juri spent the whole lesson thinking about whatever the boys had been talking about. And it took until they had their lunch break for Juri to finally approach the boys and ask just what exactly they'd been talking about.

The boys had pushed their desks together in the far corner of the room to avoid any one else listening in, but that didn't stop them from talking in excited voices. What they didn't count on was Juri coming over to ask them, "Hey...Takato. Um, that thing you guys were talking about...is that what you were talking about yesterday?"

"Huh?"

"Yesterday?" Kenta turned to Takato, peering over the top of his glasses in disbelief, "What happened yesterday, Takato?"

Before Takato could answer, Juri said, "He was asking if I'd seen a box after that thing in the nurse's office. I thought it was weird at the time but you were the one who brought it up."

"Dude, you told a girl before you told us?" Kazu grunted disapprovingly. Takato rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "I don't-"

He was cut off by Kenta pushing a finger up to his face, "Okay, now we have to see it. If Juri already saw it, then it's only fair that we see it too."

"Guys, please don't," Takato mumbled, but it was too late by that point. Juri put on her bravest face, "Is it alright if I see it too?"

"You already got to see it!" Kazu complained. Eventually Takato piped up, "Guys! Keep it down!"

It was at that exact moment when Miss Asaji came back in to signal the end of their lunch break and the return of class. As the students returned their desks to their assigned locations, Takato whispered to them, "Fine, I'll show you guys after school. But…it's a secret so you have to promise not to tell anyone. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Deal!"

"My lips are sealed!" Juri agreed. Her anticipation rose astronomically after that. Part of her wanted to see this monster she'd seen before - to face the thing that terrified her so much. But another part of her wanted to just run away in fear. She couldn't do that though. She had to be brave - she couldn't live her life in fear. She had to see it.

As soon as classes were done for the day, Minami tried to meet up with her but Juri had to turn her down. She didn't say why, but then ran off to join Takato, Kazu, and Kenta. Kazu and Kenta both looked ready to leap into the air with excitement but that only Takato more nervous and uneasy. Kazu asked at just above a whisper, "Where have you been keeping a digimon anyway? Your parents have to notice that something's up with all the extra food you have to be eating!"

"I've mostly been giving him the stuff they throw out. And he's hiding in the park," Takato explained to them sheepishly, "Well, park…a tool shed in the park that no one goes to any more. Same thing, right?"

"Not really," Kenta pointed out, but Takato shrugged. Takato finished putting things in his backpack and reminded them, "Remember! This is a secret, okay? No one knows! Now let's go."

He guided them out of the school and down the block, uncharacteristically quiet for once in the entire time Juri had known him. That didn't stop either Kenta or Kazu from prodding him with questions in the hopes of finding out more about his digimon.

"So what's this digimon like?" Kenta asked first.

"Have you gotten to go to the Digital World?" Kazu added.

"Is that why you ran out of school yesterday?"

"What? No, of course not dingus. He got loose! Why else would it have been in the nurse's office."

"If it was loose, it was probably a Gatomon."

"Nah, there's no way it would've been Gatomon. Juri would've said if it was a cat, right?"

"I don't remember it being a cat," Juri recalled just as they turned into the park, "But I didn't really get a good look. It was small enough to run under a bed. Had legs. Oh! And big ears!"

"Sounds like a Koromon," Kazu smiled, until Kenta argued, "Now who's the dingus? Koromon don't have legs!"

"Oh what do you know? It's definitely a Koromon or a Patamon! Who else has big ears?" Kazu folded his arms behind his head with a big old confident smile. Then Kenta started listing digimon, "Terriermon, Lopmon, Gummymon, Kokomon, Tokomon, Salamon-"

"Okay, we get it," Kazu snapped angrily at Kenta, "Hey Takato, how much further?"

"We're already here," Takato answered as they stopped at the foot of a long set of steps. At the top was an old shed that looked like it hadn't been used in a long time. Takato jogged up the steps and invited the rest of them to come along, just as Kenta complained, "Really? We have to climb stairs?"

"It's only a hundred steps," Takato answered, "Think of it as a work out. Now come on. He's probably hungry. Oh! And he's very friendly but don't get him too excited. He really gets into his games and I haven't been able to teach him about boundaries yet."

He hurried upstairs, with Kazu and Kenta reluctantly following along just behind him. Juri stayed behind a second longer - realizing the thing that had startled her might be up these very steps. Her desire to run away in fear was stronger than ever. But she had to be brave. She had to face this. Everything was going to be fine. Yes. It was all going to be fine.

She took a long deep breath and started walking, one foot in front of the other up the stairs after them. She'd only gotten half way up the stairs when both Kazu and Kenta came running back down the stairs screaming at the top of their lungs. The sight had her freeze and she fought every instinct to turn and run with them.

"GUYS! COME BACK! YOU WANTED TO SEE HIM, RIGHT?" Takato called back from the top of the stairs. but it was too late now, those boys were already gone from sight. Juri looked back up at Takato standing there with a frown, "They wanted to see it and they turn tail and run as soon as they do. What was the point of even asking to see him?"

"What happened?" Juri asked nervously. Takato answered through a frown, "I said hi to Guilmon. He was snoring so loud they thought he was growling and they ran off. Come on. Still want to meet him?"

He offered out his hand to her even though she didn't really need his help. But she understood why he'd offered it. The look of terror on her face must've been clear as day and he was trying to reassure her that everything would be okay. But then another issue came to mind. She didn't want to hold a boy's hand. That would've been weird and boys were gross.

That didn't stop her from taking it though. Her fear of whatever was up there was just a little stronger than her disgust of boys. And when they got to the top, she quickly let go of his hand - but still lingered close just in case. They found the shed's door had been replaced by an iron barred gate whose lock had been broken off. Takato or his digimon must've done it to get the door open. Inside was dark but she could make out the the vague outline of a large reptile and its glowing eyes in the dark.

She stepped behind Takato and let him go first as he made his way up to it, "Hey buddy. How was your nap?"

It answered with what sounded like a great big roar that turned into a yawn before a nasily voice answered, "I dreamed I got to eat a whole bread. Are we going to play now Takatomon?"

"Not quite. I brought you a snack by the way! Left over peanut butter and jelly filled bread rolls," Takato answered as he opened up his bag, "After you ate all of the food yesterday, I thought I should take some with me to school so that you didn't eat it all in one go."

"Oh boy! It smells so good. Hmm? Whose that?" Guilmon asked, finally noticing Juri. Takato answered, "A friend from school. Her name's Juri. Say hi!"

"Hi!" Guilmon said back. Takato turned to Juri and smiled, motioning for her to go on in, "Don't be afraid. He's friendly. But he may tackle you while he tries to hug you."

She took one step inside and saw a wide eyed red dinosaur staring back with something resembling a smile. It waved its large claw at her and smiled, "Hello Juri. It's nice to meet you."

This was not whatever she saw when she was in the nurse's office. In fact, this didn't creep her out at all. Guilmon was adorable, with his tail wagging back and forth like an excited dog. As Takato emptied his bag of sandwiches, he'd toss one in the air and Guilmon would happily catch it in the air with his mouth. There was something dopey about how he looked too - he didn't seem capable of being dangerous even slightly.

It took Juri a moment to finally work up the nerve to greet it, "Hello Guilmon. It's nice to meet you too!"

Guilmon looked up at the sound of his name while still eating food. Meanwhile, Takato stifled a chuckle, "Oh wow, she talks."

"Would you like to see my hole?" Guilmon asked innocently enough. Juri jumped back at the question, "What?"

"Guilmon!" Takato snapped but it was too late to stop the creature from retreating into the back of the shed to reveal a large hole he'd dug in the ground. Juri peered down the hole and watched it disappear into the darkness. Takato sighed, "Guilmon! I told you to stop digging these holes already!"

"But there's something down there!" Guilmon pleaded, before leaping down and disappearing. Takato groaned, "Guilmon! Stop! Come back! I hate it when he does that."

"He's adorable! Like a little puppy!" Juri squealed excitedly, "Are all digimon like this?"

"Just Guilmon," Takato answered with a half smile, "So was Guilmon what you saw?"

Juri shook her head, "No, it was smaller. Why is that?"

"I've just noticed that there have been more and more digimon showing up lately," Takato stated quietly, "There was Guilmon the other day, then a Renamon and Dokugumon yesterday, and whatever it is you saw."

"More digimon? Shouldn't we tell someone?" Juri asked worriedly. Takato turned on her with the look of a parent scolding a child and snapped, "No! If we tell someone, they could take...Guilmon away."

Juri understood the secrecy now. He was like a boy who had just gotten a pet and didn't want to lose it so quickly. Then Takato apologized when he realized what he'd done, "I'm sorry. I just...please keep this a secret."

"There has to be someone we can tell, right? Someone we can trust? What about those digidestiny people that Kazu was talking about?" Juri asked quickly, hoping there was someone they could turn to. Takato shook his head and added, "Nobody's seen them in a long time. Either the world was so safe that they didn't need to be seen, or they've gotten so busy with their own lives that they don't think they need to get involved. In either case, it's our problem and not theirs. We'll figure it out."

"That...sounds like the most serious thing you've ever said," Juri thought aloud, making Takato turn his head, "What do you mean?"

Juri realized she might've offended him and embarrassedly tried to play it off, "Oh well. You know you're usually so happy to lucky. And you usually don't care if you get into trouble so it's weird to see you being so...serious for once. I mean..."

When she realized she couldn't salvage the situation, she held up her sock puppet and looked away while mouthing, "Woof! You're usually so silly! Woof! Look at you being all cool and serious. Woof! Also, what do you mean we?"

When she could finally bare to look at Takato again, he wore the most confused expression on his face. He was judging her for using the puppet. He had to be. She didn't want to think about what must've been going through his mind. After a moment, Takato pocketed his hands and looked away, "You have to promise not to tell anyone. I need to know I can trust you before I say any more Juri."

Juri was stunned by that. What did he know that made him want to keep secrets? I mean, they didn't really hang out and they weren't friends. But he was acting like he had a lot of secrets. She nodded and he began, "One of the boy's in our school has a digimon too, I think. To be honest, I'm still not sure if he's playing pretend with a doll or if his partner was so knocked out that he was lying still. And then there's this other girl named Rika and her partner Renamon who-"

"Hey Takatomon! Jurimon! Look!" Guilmon called down from the bottom of the hole. They looked down at the same time to see Guilmon staring back up with a great big smile on his face. It would've been adorable if the lower half of his body wasn't ghost like - transparent and fuzzy like the distorted image on a television."

"GUILMON!" Takato jumped down into the hole to check on his partner, "Are you okay? What is this? I've never seen any...thing...like..."

He began to sway back and forth like he'd been hit in the head. He held up his hands and saw they'd become transparent - just like Guilmon. A panicked look came across his face, "What...what...is this?"

"Takato! Are you okay?" she called down at him. He looked to be in pain but Guilmon appeared to be enjoying it and he giggled, "It kinda tickles and makes me feel dizzy."

"We should...climb out," Takato suggested, stepping out of the hole and trying to pull Guilmon out. She reached down to help pull the digimon out but it didn't seem to help that much at all. It actually seemed to make things worse because now Guilmon was completely transparent from the neck down and it had spread up Takato's arms, disappearing into his hoodie shirt.

"Oh, that's not good. Maybe we should get back in the hole," Takato said quickly, leaping back down and re-examining his arms for any change, "Nope, that didn't help at all. Okay...now what? Um...oh...huh."

As quickly and mysteriously as it started, whatever was happening to them stopped. Takato reexamined himself before checking on Guilmon. It was the strangest thing - both of them were perfectly fine now. It was like nothing happened. But it was hard to miss the confused and worried look on Takato's face. she was about to suggest they go see a doctor but Takato shot down any ideas she had before she could say anything, "Don't tell anyone about this, Juri. This has to be a secret. Please...promise me."

"But, Takato!" she started, only to be interrupted, "Juri...please, trust me."

She paused, staring at him in disbelief. There were so many secrets he'd been keeping from everyone and now he wanted to keep another one? How many more was he keeping? She panicked, "Takato, how can I trust you when you're keeping all these secrets?"

"If I told you all my secrets, I wouldn't need you to trust me, Juri," he said to her seriously. There was something about his answer that was both reassuring and not at the exact same time. She didn't know what to believe. Scared out of her mind, she changed the subject, "How...what could've done this?"

Takato shrugged but she was certain he was downplaying his own worries, "I have no idea. I'm just as lost as you. But I think now would be a good time to check on-"

"HI!"

Juri and Takato both jumped at the same time as a new guest joined them, while Guilmon shifted into an angry stance. They all found themselves looking at the same small white creature with big eyes and bigger ears looking at them with its tiny paw set to its head. Once she saw it, there was no mistaking it. This was what she saw hiding in the medicine cabinet at school. She pointed at it, "You're the monster from the school!"

"And you're the screaming girl! You're a lot quieter today! You shouldn't scream as much. It suits you better," it answered with a great big smile. Takato pointed at it in disbelief, "That's what you saw?"

She nodded, "Yeah, that's the one. No doubt about it! It ran at me in the school!"

"You hit me with a broom!" the little digimon replied.

"It doesn't look that aggressive," Takato observed, oblivious to the fact that it bounced up to Guilmon and patted his snout, "That was a neat trick you pulled, turning into a ghost like that! You must be a lot of fun at parties."

"What's a party?" Guilmon turned his head. Calumon bounced excitedly, "You don't know? Oh no! We have to throw you one right away! I'll go find balloons!"

"Wait! Stop!" Takato jumped in front of the creature, blocking his exit, "Who are you?"

"I'm Calumon!" the little digimon answered excitedly, bouncing past him without another word, "I don't have time to talk though! He needs a party!"

"Calumon? I've never heard of a Calumon before. What's a Calumon?" Takato asked, scratching his head and lost in thought while the little digimon scurried past him. Juri had to bring it to his attention, "It got away Takato."

"Huh?" he looked around the shed and finally noticed Calumon was gone. He groaned and took a quick scan out the door, "Calumon! Calumon? Why do these things keep popping in and out of my life? Guilmon, get your box!"

"Are we going out to play?" Guilmon asked. Juri asked, "Are we going to find Calumon?"

"No. There's even way too many weird things lately and I need answers," Takato frowned, continuing to scratch the back of his head, "But there's been way too many weird things going on lately and I'm a bit out...of my league here. I think we should go find our classmate and that Rika girl from yesterday."

"Rika?" Juri repeated, recalling that Takato said she had a partner too. Juri wondered if it was okay for her to have anything involved in something like this. Despite that, she followed along as the two left the shed and headed out.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** What happened to Guilmon and Takato? Do Rika and Henry have any more idea than Takato does? And what did that organization do with Dokugumon? Find out all this and more on the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out next Friday February 8th at 8 PM CDT. If you guys loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I love hearing your thoughts and answering them as soon as I'm able. And hey, don't forget to follow/favorite the story to keep up with all the latest updates. I'm glad you guys are enjoying the story so far and hope you all are looking forward to how it ends. That's all for now, let's look at previews for the next chapter:

"You didn't do anything," Yamaki assured him, "It was the machine."

"I fired it," he countered.

"You needed two people."

"I helped pull the trigger. I...this isn't what I had to do."

"You created a weapon, a deterrent that could help save countless lives and protect the world. Your country and the world thank you," Yamaki patted the man on the shoulder as he turned away, keeping his face buried in his hands.


	5. The Tamers Together

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 5: The Tamers Together**

Yamaki sat in the laboratory anxiously, watching the various agents and scientists of Project Hypnos work to move the captured spider monster into the containment chamber. It shouldn't have taken this long but they had a lot of difficulty getting the creature into the Tokyo Metropolitan Building without attracting a lot of attention. And then, it was a matter of getting it onto an elevator to the upper floors and keeping it from mauling any employees.

Once the monster was secured inside of the containment chamber, the doors were sealed and the scientists went to work activating their new weapon. In the containment chamber, Yamaki could see the monster howling and screaming - clawing at the glass to get out of its prison in vain. Between the layers of reinforced glass and hardened steel, there was no way it was going to get out. Until the first layer of glass began to crack, and two of the guards drew their weapons in response. This was taking too long and Yamaki was growing impatient, "Izumi! How much longer?"

"I'm not an employee and I'm not working for you willingly. If you want me to turn this on, you're going to let me finish the proper start up procedure," the red haired scientist spat back angrily. Yamaki groaned, making a mental note to speak with Izumi later about his attitude. He wasn't wrong - he was an involuntary employee of the organization whose cooperation was co-opted when his family ran into sudden financial trouble. Made all the worse by the fact that he hadn't been allowed to see them in years.

He was a brilliant addition to the team though - his natural genius and understanding of this subject granted them insights that would've taken years to acquire without him. And their past experiences spoke to that. In the past, some of the captured creatures took umbrage with a nickname from one of the scientists and mauled him.

After several more minutes of waiting and watching him type on his keyboard, Izumi stated, "Juggernaut is online. Preparing test fire."

Another scientist appeared beside him and they both inserted keys into a command console. The weapon they were about to test was such a large electrical drain on the power grid that they needed two simultaneous key turns to prevent a total system collapse just because of an accidental button press. Izumi said aloud, "Key turn in three, two, one!"

They both turned their keys at the same time, and the whole room began to hum. Through the observation glass, they watched the containment chamber begin to glow and the spider begin to fizzle out. It screamed in horrible agony, and Yamaki noticed the less hardened members of security and scientists become unnerved. A few even turned away in disgust as the creature was ripped and finally turned to nothing. Izumi shut off the machine and covered his face in disbelief, "I can't believe I just did that."

"You didn't do anything," Yamaki assured him, "It was the machine."

"I fired it," Izumi countered.

"You needed two people."

"I helped pull the trigger. I...this isn't what I'm supposed to do."

"You created a weapon, a deterrent that could help save countless lives and protect the world. Your country and the world thank you," Yamaki patted the man on the shoulder as he turned away, keeping his face buried in his hands. He shook in disbelief, "I...I can never look them in the eye again. I could never see them again. This...this isn't...god, what have I done?"

"Absolutely nothing wrong," Yamaki said, "Get some sleep. I have to make a call."

He made his way to his office on the far side of the laboratory and called the defense minister with the update. It didn't take long for him to pick up this time, "Yamaki. You're late."

"We ran into complications getting it into the building. The test was successful, and the creature was successfully destroyed."

"I figured. Half of the neighborhood's blacked out," the minister replied quietly on the other side, "That's good though. I'll have a report on the Prime Minister's desk soon. Get a report ready and on my desk tomorrow. I'll bring it to the Prime Minister first thing. And Yamaki, I see good things for you in the future."

"Thank you sir," Yamaki heard the other end before he clicked. He sighed and took his shades off. He was tired; more tired than he cared to admit. He had no idea how long it had been since his last night's sleep and wasn't sure when he'd be doing so next. He sat down in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment, hoping to get just the shortest rest before returning to his work.

* * *

Rika sat in her room quietly reorganizing her deck. She'd set up this deck to be useful to her whenever she was in the middle of a card game but that required her deck to be shuffled and reshuffled constantly between games. That was great for ensuring a fair game where a difference in skill could be mitigated by random chance. It wasn't great in the middle of a life-or-death battle where she needed to get certain cards quickly.

Why else would she have nearly lost the last battle? Her deck was too disorganized. If she hadn't wasted time trying to find the cards she needed, Renamon would have had the fight in the bag. And the fog. She'd acquired some glasses to help keep the sting out of her eyes, but she wasn't how sure they were going to work. Not until she had a chance for a field test.

She was interrupted from her thoughts when her grandmother came to her room, "Ruki! I mean Rika. You have friends here to see you."

"Friends?" Rika looked up with a scowl, "If it's any of those girls from school, I don't want to see them. Tell them I don't have beauty tips and mom picks out my clothes, so leave me alone!"

"Actually, it's a boy and a girl...and a box. I think they're here to play you at your cute little card game," her grandmother smiled cheerily. Rika raised an eyebrow, not sure what bothered her more. That some kids came all this way to play a card game, or that her grandmother called it cute, "It's not cute grandma. Wait, did you say box?"

She dreaded who she was going to find, especially when her grandmother added, "That's right. It's the strangest thing, but kids these days are so different from my day. They're out in the living room. You kids have fun!"

"Grandma! Wait!" Rika scrambled up to her feet but was unable to catch her grandmother before she had already left. Rika sighed, surprised that her grandmother could move so quickly despite her age. She wasn't exactly on her death bed, but the woman was old enough that she shouldn't have disappeared like that. Maybe she was part ninja and Rika has some latent family abilities she didn't know she had yet. In either case, she grabbed both her sets of cards and made her way out to the living room where her grandmother was busy pouring tea for their guests.

And right away, it was exactly who she feared - Takato, that dumb digimon she didn't recognize, and some girl with a pony tail on the side of her head and a sock puppet in her hand. And the worst part was he still wore those stupid goggles on his head. They were all seated around the table while her grandmother retreated to the kitchen. Rika sighed, "What are you doing here goggle head?"

"Hi Rika! I thought we should stop by and visit!" Takato smiled cheerily, "You remember Guilmo...I mean...um, Giyamonu. Okay, that doesn't work. Forget it, just call him Guilmon. And this is Juri."

"Hi," the other girl waved sheepishly. One look at her dress was all Rika needed to see. She was one of those girly girl types. The kind who was probably into dolls and dresses and ponies. Just the thought of it made her sick. She took a seat at the table opposite them and sighed, "Really? You thought you should stop by and visit? And how did you find my house anyway?"

"I'm just good like that!" Takato beamed until Juri added, "We knocked on every door until we got your grandmother. It took most of the afternoon."

Takato sighed, "Alright fine, it took us a couple of guesses. About ten, maybe a little over, perhaps around forty. Look, it doesn't matter. The point is we're here."

"Yes, you are. Now how do I make you go away?" Rika growled at them. Guilmon didn't seem to notice her scathing dismissal and asked from under his box, "If you're not going to have your tea, can I?"

Rika looked over at the glass of oolong in front of her and pushed it his way. She heard the dinosaur squeal with delight as it lifted up the box to grab the drink before disappearing back under. She sighed, "Did you seriously just let your digimon show itself?"

Takato shrugged, "It's okay. Juri's a friend and you've already met Guilmon. Speaking of, where's your digimon partner, Renamon?"

Rika looked around the room and could hear her grandmother in the kitchen washing dishes. She'd be in there for a while, but she'd still have to be quick. She snapped her fingers and Renamon appeared behind her, "You called?"

"Gogglehead wanted to see you," she replied grumpily, "There! You've seen her. Now go away."

"Renamon! How are you doing?" Takato jumped up excitedly, circling her like a vulture.

"Okay, I guess," Renamon frowned, turning her head to follow him, "What are you doing?"

"You haven't felt or experienced anything weird today, have you?" Takato asked aloud, suddenly examine her arms carefully - turning it over and inspecting the skin under her fur. Renamon swatted him away, "You mean besides whatever it is you're doing right now? No. I haven't."

"So you didn't notice a tingling sensation or parts of your body becoming transparent?" Takato asked, returning to his side of the table. Renamon frown began to turn into a scowl, "I don't understand what you're getting at and it's making me uncomfortable."

"So you didn't...turn into a ghost for a minute?" Takato asked more slowly, pressing the point so that even Rika was annoyed at him, "She said no, gogglehead. What's this about anyway?"

"Nothing to worry about. I just had some questions," Takato replied, finishing his tea and sitting up, "We should go."

"No," Rika slammer her hand on the table, "Before, I just wanted you out but now I gotta know what you know. You came all the way out here to ask Renamon...what, did she become a ghost? What does that even mean? What are you up to?"

Takato stared at her quietly for the longest time. Long enough that she was certain he was sizing her up. He mumbled something about a promise under his breath before answering, "I'm just trying to figure out what's going on. I'm surprised you aren't, honestly. Digimon have suddenly started popping up all over Tokyo. There are strange men in funny suits running around. And to top it all off, no one is saying anything about it. I'm not sure if it's because it just hasn't spread out enough yet for people to notice or if someone is keeping it quiet but something is going on. It makes me wonder if the digidestined know anything about it."

"They're just stories," Rika pointed out but Takato answered by gesturing at Renamon and Guilmon, "Do they look like stories?"

Rika clarified, "I meant the digidestined. I don't know about you but if they were real, they'd be all over the news wouldn't they? They'd be celebrities. But they aren't. You know why? Because they don't exist!"

She didn't like the disapproving look on Takato's face and wanted to smack it straight off of him. But even if she was right, that didn't change the fact that the gogglehead was on to something. Why were the digimon coming to their world? Renamon said she wanted to get stronger, but were all the digimon looking for partners? And if so, why did they feel the need to fight each other. Takato sat up, "I think it's time we go. We still have to find that other guy, Henry."

"Other guy? What other guy?" Rika demanded angrily, only to be ignored as they all stood up. Only Juri was polite enough to say, "Thanks for having us over."

"Right," Rika said, following them to the door and slamming it shut once they were gone. Her grandmother finally came out of the kitchen to ask, "What was that noise? Is everything okay, Rika?"

"Just kicked them out," Rika replied quietly, making her way back to her room. Renamon had cleared out too which was good. Besides, she still had to finish reorganizing her deck. She made her way back to her room, content to finish what she was doing only to find her digivice going off inside. The radar was pointing off into the distance. She knew what she had to do and put on her card belt. Renamon appeared beside her as she prepared to leave, "There's a digimon. Are we going?"

"You know it."

* * *

Yamaki was stirred awake by a red haired woman in a white jumpsuit. Riley Ohtori. The prettiest face in the Hypnos Program. And he didn't just think that because they were in a relationship. She had turned more than a few heads in her time at Hypnos. Because of that, they had to keep their relationship a secret. That would've been an HR disaster.

"Sir, there's another wild one on the loose," she said. Yamaki massaged the bridge of his nose and stood up, "Okay, track it until it bio emerges and deploy the Quick Reaction Force as soon as it does. I want it captured before Burnt Leaf gets there."

"Already have, sir," she nodded, making her way out of his office. He took a moment longer to massage his nose and wake up before straightening his clothes out. He must've fallen asleep again. He needed to stop doing that. Afterwards, he made his way out to the monitoring room. It was a large half dome building that mapped out the entire communications network across the globe. Riley had taken her place with Tally, the other operator of the monitoring system. They sat on two elevated chairs above the rest of the room which allowed them to quickly swivel towards any of the screens and track all bio-emergences as they happened.

And Yamaki could see the big red dot of one of those monsters coming through. And its location made him panic. The digimon was about to appear in the middle of a busy intersection. This was not going to be good. It'd be a nightmare for disaster control.

* * *

Juri followed after Takato and Guilmon as they made their way down the street. There was no point in denying that the sight of the box was turning a lot of heads. If anything, it probably would've been less conspicuous if Guilmon was walking around without the box. Telling people one f their friends was in a very convincing costume made a lore more sense than telling people their friend like their box too much.

Then something in Takato's pocket started making a loud beeping noise. It was so loud that everyone in the area turned their head to see. It didn't help that Guilmon began growling from inside his box, unnerving the few people still walking around. Takato fished the weirdest device out of his pocket and examined, "Oh, that's not good. There's a digimon around here."

"What?" Juri blinked, trying to peer over his shoulder at the device in his hand. Then he turned on his heel to face her, "Juri, you might want to go home. There's going to be trouble."

"Trouble?" Juri repeated, her mind racing into a panic. She had no idea what a digimon fight was like but it couldn't be good. Especially when Takato added, "If anyone asks, you have no idea who I am. Come on Guilmon!"

"Can I come out of the box now?" Guilmon asked. Takato took one look around and sighed, "Not yet. Stay under there a little longer. Let's go buddy!"

"Okay!" Guilmon shouted, running after Takato. Juri considered running after them - to help out. But then the fear came back, the crippling fear of her own death and demise. She didn't want to die. Then she realized something - Takato and Guilmon were running towards it. She had to stop them! They'd get killed!

But they were already gone, somewhere in the crowd where she couldn't see them.

* * *

Henry had gone for an uncharacteristic walk with Terriermon after school, carrying the digimon in his arms like a doll. He needed time to clear his head and think things through. It didn't help that he was too busy trying to find Calumon. The digimon had to be around here somewhere. But where was he? He looked down at the device in his hand and wished it would tell him where to look. But nothing. Then it began beeping. The digivice came to life and its screen showed a radar.

Terriermon's ears perked up at the same time and little digimon sniffed the air, "Henry? I smell a digimon. It's big."

"That explains the digivice. We'd better go check it out," Henry said aloud. He followed the radar on his screen back out onto the street and into a busy intersection. Cars had stopped from every direction as a thick fog began to form in the middle of the intersection. What little light was coming from their cars could barely even penetrate it, but no one was willing to drive blindly into it in the dark.

Terriermon's ears twitched in response to the fog and he pointed it out, "It's there Henry! It's appearing there!"

"What? It can't show up here! This is the middle of a city block!" Henry cried out in disbelief, panicking at the uncertainty of what digimon would be coming out in the middle of all this. As he said that, he noticed the car doors swing open as disgruntled drivers climbed out to yell at the traffic jam. A few choice insults were thrown between drivers trying to throw blame, then silence as they all heard a loud boom. Terriermon gasped, "It's here!"

All the lights flickered and went out at the same time, shrouding the street in darkness. He wished Terriermon hadn't said that out loud.

"Did that doll just talk?" a bystander asked. Henry couldn't answer it though. His attention was squarely on the monster that appeared in front of them. A Devidramon. There was no mistaking its dragon body with black leathery wings and blood red eyes. That monster was Devidramon. That look in his eye was one of murderous intent, the kind he'd seen when all those digimon ganged up on Terriermon in his game. And it just landed in the middle of a busy street.

A few people had already started trying to clear out - running as fast and as far away as they could while the monster was still standing there. It didn't take long before panic broke out. Cars started backing away into other cars that'd been abandoned and accidents mounted. Henry found his legs frozen. He had a digimon partner and a digivice. He...had to help right? But then the thought of Terriermon getting hurt chilled him to the bone. Terriermon didn't stand a chance against that thing. He couldn't bare to see the little digimon get hurt again. Worse, he couldn't live with himself if he watched him die! He couldn't do it. But if he chose not to, others would die instead.

"Henry! We have to go!" Terriermon pleaded. Did he mean away or towards the danger? He couldn't make heads or tails of his partner's exasperated cries. All he knew was that he didn't want to be here.

Then someone rushed past, followed by a box with a large red tail sticking out of the bottom. Henry looked over to see Takato again with his box again. Takato sized up the digimon and said, "Well hello. Aren't you big? Okay, Devidramon. Need a plan. Need a plan. It's too big to take on directly so we're going to have to go on surprise. Like a direct attack while he's still disoriented. Which he'd never expect because he'd kill us instantly, so it would be a short surprise. What do you think buddy?"

"I think I'm hungry, Takatomon," the box answered. Takato looked over at the box with the saddest expression on his face. It wasn't disappointment at his partner - more like he was missing something and didn't know how to act without it. Then he noticed Henry. The two made eye contact briefly, "Henry?"

The loud defiant roar of the angry digimon pulled their attention back to it. The digimon was mad. And it was on the rampage. One arm came out of the fog at one of the cars in front. By some miracle, the driver managed to get out before the arm crushed the car under its weight. Then panic turned into chaos. Takato cried out, "Okay, forget the plan! Guilmon! Go!"

"Go where?" the box asked. Takato groaned, "No, I mean get its attention. You know, bring it some where else?"

"Where else should I go?" the box asked.

"One side gogglehead!" a red haired girl wearing sunglasses shouted. Henry was at a loss now. There were two of them. The girl looked up at Devidramon and then retrieved a digivice from her pocket, "A champion level, huh? Should be no problem."

"What do we do Rika?" A yellow fox appeared beside the girl. She smiled, "Don't worry! I've got the right upgrade for this."

She produced her deck from a pouch on her belt and shuffled through the cards. After a moment, she found one and pulled it from the rest. Then she did the strangest thing, she swiped her card through a slot on the side of her digivice, "Digimodify! Excalibur Activate!"

"Excalibur?" Henry repeated, "Isn't that MagnaAngemon's Sword?"

To his amazement, a purple gauntlet appeared on the fox's arm and a violet blade extended out from it. It was the armor of a holy type digimon and Devidramon was a dark type digimon. Renamon now had the advantage she needed. The fox dashed in with the sword, leaping into the air and with a sharp blow, she sliced off one of the Devidramon's fingers. The devil dragon roared and hissed in protest, then swatted at Renamon. The fox leapt out of the way and landed atop a street light, "I think we made him angry."

"That just means we've got his attention. Keep attacking Renamon!" Rika replied, "Use your speed and stay on the move!"

That was when Takato gave a different order, "No, don't stay on the move! Well, do stay on the move, but get it out of here! Move it some place else!"

"What are you talking about? We've got the advantage!" Rika spat back, "We can take him! Now get out of our way goggle head!"

"You're putting people in danger! Get him out of here!" Takato gestured at the panicked crowd around them, only to be met with Rika's response, "If we defeat him, it won't be a problem! What part of this aren't you getting goggle head? Move it!"

"No one has to beat anyone!" Takato tried to reason with the girl but it was too late. She wasn't listening to a word he was saying by that point and was more interested in winning. Henry couldn't dare to stand back and watch this anymore. But it took his partner slapping him in the face to get him to finally move, "Henry! We can't just sit here! We have to do something."

He snapped himself out of his stupor long enough to call out to them, "He's right! We can't let anyone else get hurt!"

"Oh great, another one of you who's too scared to fight. Look, just stay out of our way and let me and Renamon take care of this!" Rika snapped at him too, "Once this digimon is gone, there won't be a problem any more."

"NO!" Takato roared at Rika defiantly, stepping in so close to her that he looked ready to attack her. Rika raised an eyebrow at the boy, "And what are you going to do? It's not like you had a problem with that Dokugumon before."

"That was different! I was trying to get you and Renamon out of there!" Takato explained, "Now I'm trying to get you guys to stop fighting long enough to get Devidramon elsewhere."

"And do what? Lose him like you lost your partner?" Rika snapped back. They were so busy bickering with each other that neither of noticed that the Devidramon had turned its attention on them. Or that it was now looming over them while they bickered. In fact, Henry was sure that if he didn't do something, they'd be dead. He cried out, "GUYS! LOOK OUT!"

Both kids became aware of their situation just long enough to realize Devidramon was hovering over them. Rika was frozen by fear but Takato still had enough of his sense to grab Rika's hand and run, "RUN!"

The box was thrown into the air to reveal a large red dinosaur that followed after them, just as Devidramon's remaining hand came crashing down on top of them. Renamon took this chance to throw herself at Devidramon again, swinging away at the giant monster with her wrist mounted blade but unable to deliver a serious blow - every time she got close, Devidramon would sway at her.

Takato answered, "Fine! Next time, I'll leave you under the giant monster's claws. Henry, do you have any ideas?"

"What?" Henry took a step back as he realized what he'd been asked. He took one look at the giant monster and once again found himself unable to say anything. Nothing he could think of didn't involve Terriermon putting himself into serious danger. The little digimon spoke up, "Henry! You have to get me in there! I can help too, y'know."

"NO!" Henry snapped at his partner. The little digimon looked up at his partner in silent defeat, "But Henry-"

"But nothing! You're not putting yourself in danger!" Henry answered his partner quickly to keep him from going into danger.

"Oh great, that'll be fun to work with," he heard Takato say. Henry stepped back and watched Takato explain to Guilmon, "I guess it's just you and me now buddy. Come on, follow me!"

"Okay!" Guilmon said more excitedly than he should have. The two ran off in front of the giant Devidramon and Takato started calling out, "Devidramon! HEY! Look at me!"

Devidramon turned his attention back to the pair and it growled angrily. Rika snapped, "You better not be doing what I think you're doing goggle head!"

"That's right! Follow me!" Takato called out at it, "Try and eat me! Look at how delicious I look!"

Henry couldn't believe it. Takato was trying to use himself as bait. Once Devidramon turned to follow, the boy ran off, "Got his attention! Come on Guilmon!"

"Are we playing a game? I'm confused," Guilmon panted as he followed after Takato. Devidramon stomped after the two as they rounded the corner and continued on - leaving behind a confused Terriermon, Henry, Rika, and Renamon. Renamon's eyes narrowed, "What is he doing?'

"I think he's trying to take our digimon from us!" Rika growled, "Don't let them get away Renamon!"

"It might be too late for that. They're running pretty fast," Terriermon observed as they disappeared around another corner. Rika clicked her tongue, "Well, too bad for them. Nothing can out run Renamon. Let's go!"

Renamon took off and Rika gave chase, leaving behind both Henry and Terriermon to stare in disbelief as they ran off. Terriermon asked, "So are we going to chase after them, too? It'll be hard to keep up if we don't start moving."

"We don't have to keep up. We just have to follow the loud explosions and the screams of terror," Henry answered. Terriermon looked up in disbelief but obviously excited, "Does this mean we're going to help?"

He shook his head, "No. I mean we should. But..."

Henry pauses again. He had to help. It was the right thing to do, wasn't it? He had a digivice and a digimon partner. This was his responsibility. Their responsibility. Still, the doubt lingered in his mind. He never answered his partner, instead giving chase after the screams and explosions he knew would go wherever Takato was leading the giant digimon.

* * *

Rika and Renamon caught up with Devidramon just as Takato and Guilmon led it into another park. She didn't recognize this area or know where exactly she was but she knew that she wasn't about to lose another digimon - another victory because of this one kid's intervention. Although she was thinking that, it didn't change the fact that nothing Renamon could do pulled Devidramon's attention back to her. It was fixated on Takato - fixated on his stupid goggle head and his even dumber partner.

"What's with that big oaf?" Renamon complained, landing beside Rika at the park entrance and gasping for breath, "I'm stabbing it with a sword and it'd rather chase them!"

"Great question," Rika grit her teeth, "It's about time we-"

A sudden bright flash of light deep inside the park caught her attention. This late at night, it was hard to miss it happening. It practically lit up the neighborhood. She looked at Renamon who returned her confusion with an equally blank stare. Rika grit her teeth, wondering just what that goggle head had done. She raced in with her partner in tow, coming to a small shrine where Takato lay sitting on the ground with Guilmon beside him.

The boy massaged the back of his head, "Okay, that took longer to figure out than it should've. What setting was that on anyway? Wait, never mind. Are you okay Guilmon?"

"I'm hungry," the dinosaur complained, and Takato sighed, "We just ran for our lives from a giant killer digimon and all you can think about is food. Aren't you even tired."

Rika was furious. Once again, they'd been robbed of a win because of these two. Rika snapped, "Where's the Devidramon goggle head?"

"I don't know. The Digital World I guess," he shrugged from the ground, "We lured him out here to get him away from the street. Then there was this bright flash. Next thing I know, Devidramon's gone. I don't know where he went."

"You...you...aaargh!" Rika shrieked in frustration, trying her best to not throw a violent fit in front of this kid who'd just deprived her of a chance to make Renamon stronger. She pointed at him, "That's the last time goggle head! Renamon and I had that! You owe us a digimon to absorb!"

"Absorb? What're you talking about?" the boy asked, looking between his red partner and her. Was he intentionally playing dumb? No. That wasn't going to work on her. He'd already demonstrated that he knew more than he was willing to let on. Not that she cared. They owed her a digimon, and she saw a way to get it. She scowled, "Fine! Play dumb for all I care. We'll just take that partner of yours. Renamon!"

"Yes Rika," she felt Renamon appear just behind her. Perfect. She was going to get the victory she was owed. She pointed at the big red moron and shouted, "Take out that sorry excuse for a digimon!"

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Rika is on the attack! Will Takato and Guilmon be okay? What happened to Juri? Will Henry and Terriermon intervene or stand by? Find out all this and more on the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out next Friday February 8th at 15 PM CDT. If you guys loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I love hearing your thoughts and answering them as soon as I'm able. And hey, don't forget to follow/favorite the story to keep up with all the latest updates. I'm glad you guys are enjoying the story so far and hope you all are looking forward to how it ends. That's all for now, let's look at previews for the next chapter:

Then his cell phone rang. It seemed he wouldn't have to wait to suffer, "This is Yamaki."

His boss answered with an uncharacteristically calm anger, "It's all over the news Yamaki. You better have a good explanation for this."

He bit his tongue to keep himself from shouting back, "We can detect the creatures as they attempt to cross over into our world. We can't control where they appear or how long it'll take for the QRF to arrive. Until you authorize the Juggernaut for use, all we can do is run damage control."

"Don't try to pin this on me Yamaki," the minister growled under his breath, "What's your damage control plan since that's all you have?"


	6. In Fighting

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 6: In Fighting**

Henry rejoined the group just in time to see Renamon swinging her sword like crazy at Guilmon. Guilmon lost any semblance of the naive child he'd behaved like previously, devolving into a violent hissing monster that charged and attacked. Terriermon mused, "You must've been really slow Henry because it looks like we missed something important."

Henry said nothing back to that comment, instead now wrestling with the idea of whether or not he should get involved here. Takato actually called out to his partner, begging the red dinosaur to stop fighting while Rika cheered her partner on.

"That's it! You've got him on the ropes!"

"Guilmon! Please! Listen to me!"

Guilmon ignored Takato, getting the drop on Renamon by whipping his tail at her at her feet. The fox fell on her back and Guilmon was on her, digging his fangs into her arms. At first, Henry was sure Guilmon would win. But then he saw Renamon ready the sword to strike a fatal blow on Guilmon. It was a feint, a trick to make Guilmon an easy target. And he fell for it. Rika cheered, "That's it Renamon! End this!"

"Guilmon! NO!" Takato ran for his partner, calling his partner's name and trying to get his attention, "RUN AWAY! GUILMON!"

Just before Renamon could deliver the blow, Guilmon let go of her and stood up, "Takatomon? Sorry! Sorry! Can we play now?"

It was a curious moment to see. Guilmon had completely forgotten about the fight he was just in, leaving a confused Renamon lying on the ground. Rika didn't share Takato's concern and ordered, "What're you doing Renamon! End that baby digimon!"

"Yes! As you wish!" Renamon shouted, scrambling to her feet and readying to attack. Just as she charged forward, Takato wrapped his arms around Guilmon and spun the digimon behind him, "I'm glad you're okay buddy! Don't run into a fight like that again!"

Renamon stopped mid charge, coming to a stop just short of them with a surprise look on her face. She let the gauntlet slide out of her arm as she relaxed her wrist, eyes still fixed on these two. Rika scowled, "What are you doing Renamon? Finish it!"

"Rika," Renamon frowned, looking back at her partner in dismay. Rika didn't seem to be able to see it, which was a shame for her. Henry thought it was obvious what was going through the rookie digimon's mind. She'd seen Takato run to protect his partner that way, and was actually standing in her way to defend him. He wondered what Rika had put Renamon through that she was hesitant to attack this digidestined who cared enough about his partner to stand in her way. Was it that she was unfamiliar with the compassion or that Rika had conditioned her to not attack people?

Either way, she wasn't attacking. And Rika was infuriated by her insubordination, "I'm giving you an order Renamon! If you want to get stronger, this is how you do it! End those dweebs!"

"Knock it off!" Henry finally found the courage to scold her. Rika finally took notice of him standing there, as did Takato and Guilmon. Terriermon leapt out of his arms and ran into the middle of the stand off, "Why are you guys all fighting anyway? Weren't you busy fighting that giant Devidramon a second ago? Why not celebrate!? Where'd he go anyway?"

"We're not celebrating until we put a digimon in the ground! Right, Renamon!" Rika spat out angrily, "We came out here to beat a digimon and absorb its data and that's what we're going to do."

Renamon looked back at her partner silently and Henry commented, "I don't think she wants to fight anymore. Do you Renamon?"

Terriermon giggled and patted the fox's leg, "Moumantai!"

"Huh? Moumantai?" Takato repeated aloud. Henry sighed, "I don't know. It's a thing he says. So what happened to Devidramon?"

"He went back to the Digital World. I think…hope…look, the important part is he's not causing problems anymore," Takato answered meekly, before turning to Rika, "Why do you want to fight digimon so bad anyway?"

"It's what Renamon wants. It's why she came here! She chose me because I was the best partner and I'm going to help her become the strongest digimon," Rika declared loudly, "Got a problem with that?"

Takato nodded and counted them off on his fingers, "A few problems, yeah. First one is that Guilmon was just born. He's not fighting anyone on my watch. Second thing is Renamon coming to this world. You said she came here to get stronger. Why? What's going on in the Digital World? And third, what do you mean best partner?"

"It's the way of the Digital World," Renamon answered quietly, "The weak die. The strong live. As for Rika, well, she is the tamer."

"The tamer?" Takato looked between them, "What does that even mean?"

"You're wrong about the Digital World," Henry interrupted, "All the books said that only the evil digimon wanted to fight and kill each other. The rest of the digimon were just trying to live their lives in peace."

"But I was fighting Gorillamon. Does that make me a bad guy?" Terriermon asked. Henry folded his arms, "They attacked you first, that's different. It's self defense. This…this is just violence in the name of violence."

"Henry! Moumantai!" Terriermon said with his ears raised above his head. He sighed, wandering if his partner meant to stop over thinking things or if he meant not to worry about it since he couldn't do much about it anyway. He groaned and looked over at Takato, "And you. What's your deal? Yesterday you said you didn't know a thing about digimon and here you are with _one_."

"I didn't know if I could trust you yesterday," he answered firmly, making sure to keep Guilmon just behind him, "It's a bit of a relief to see that you're Terriermon isn't a doll."

"Only to his sister since she won't leave me alone," Terriermon admitted unhappily. Guilmon approached Terriermon and started sniffing the digimon like a dog, pushing his snout so close that Terriermon doubled over in laughter, "Stop! Stop! That tickles!"

Guilmon turned around to face his partner and asked, "Takatomon, is he a friend? He's a lot nicer than the other one."

"I take exception to that assertion," Renamon protested. Then all three digimon looked up. Terriermon's ears stood on end, Renamon looked off into the forest, and Guilmon started growling again. Takato asked, "What is it Guilmon? Do you smell something?"

"Humans just entered the park," Renamon answered, "I can sense them."

"They smell like the ones from yesterday," Guilmon added excitedly, "More friends?"

Henry looked between them, completely out of the loop of what they were talking about. Between the two of them, he knew who he trusted to stand beside and made his way over to Takato, "What's going on? Who's here?"

"We should get out of here. RUN!" Takato shouted at the top of his lungs. Renamon vanished instantly while the rest of them took off at a run. Rika scowled, "We're not done here goggle head!"

"Will you let that go?" Takato shouted back as they all made their way out of the other side of the park.

* * *

Yamaki arrived on the scene some time after the QRF had already secured the area and examined the park carefully. This was where it had gone - the wild one that crossed over from the Digital World. But there was no sign of it. The reports were clear - a twenty foot tall flying dragon with glowing red eyes and black leathery skin. Something like that didn't just disappear. It had to be some where. So where did it go?

One of the hazmat team approached him with a spare hazmat suit in his hands, "Sir, you shouldn't enter the area without this."

Yamaki brushed him aside and made his way into the park without one. As the Director of Operation for the Hypnos Program, it was his responsibility to prevent things like this. And the devastation was all the evidence he'd needed that he'd failed in that endeavor. All the way up the street were over turned cars, bent street lights, broken windows, cracked pavement, and more. The worst of it was not knowing what that monster brought with it when it came over to this world. Radiation? Disease? If any innocent civilians suffered because of his failure, then he intended to suffer with them. The only solace he could take was knowing no one was hurt right now.

Then his cell phone rang. It seemed he wouldn't have to wait to suffer for a different reason, "This is Yamaki."

His boss answered with an uncharacteristically calm anger, "It's all over the news, Yamaki. You better have a good explanation for this."

He bit his tongue to keep himself from shouting back, "We can detect the creatures as they attempt to cross over into our world. We can't control where they appear or how long it'll take for the QRF to arrive. Until you authorize the Juggernaut for use, all we can do is run damage control."

"Don't try to pin this on me Yamaki," the minister growled under his breath, "What's your damage control plan since that's all you have?"

Yamaki forced a smile to keep himself calm, "We need to keep the populace calm. A panic could trigger a riot. We report it as an isolated incident: mass hallucinations triggered by a terrorist attack utilizing an airborne hallucinogen. We tell them that plans are underway to prevent similar incidents in the future."

"And how are we going to explain the fact that there were two of them?" the minister demanded. That was the question he wasn't ready for. What did he mean there were two? Their scanners only detected one making its way to their world. Where did the second one come from? He couldn't let the minister know that and calmly repeated, "Same thing. It was an isolated terrorist incident and the situation is under control."

"Is it under control?" the minister demanded.

"Yes sir," Yamaki said to try and reassure his boss. His boss nodded and hung up the phone. Then Yamaki sighed. It was not under control. But he couldn't let him know that. All he could do was rely on his sources. The resident expert in Hypnos was Izumi, and Yamaki was going to have him working another all nighter to explain what just happened. For now, there had to be something left over from this attack. Something he could use to further test the Juggernaut program and persuade the secretary to authorize its use.

...

Rika dashed after the rest of the boys until they came upon an empty alley. They all gasped for breath, too tired to keep running but knowing they couldn't stand out in the open. Takato stumbled his way over to a dumpster and grabbed the largest box he could find, throwing it over his partner to conceal him, "Stay under there until we get you back to the park buddy."

"Who were those guys?" Henry asked between gasps for breath. Takato shrugged, "No idea. Last time they started shooting at Dokugumon. And who knows what they did to him…her…it."

"I think it's time we all compared notes and figured out what's going on," Henry grunted out, leaning against the wall to keep himself upright while he continued gasping. Rika was just as tired and wasn't in the mood for any more talking, "Oh great, you and goggle head will have a lot to talk about."

Henry looked over at Takato, hoping for an explanation and he answered grimly, "We stopped by her house earlier, hoping to figure out what was going on. It's been a weird day."

Henry felt a small smile draw itself on his face. As inappropriate as it was, he couldn't help but feel like one of the main characters in those books he read, "It's like we're digidestined from those novels. You know - A Digimon Adventure and Another Digimon Adventure by that Takeru Takaishi guy."

"I hate to break it to you, but those are just books," Rika pointed out. Terriermon shook his head, "Not in our world. In the Digital World, everyone knows about the digidestined and how they fought to stop the Dark Masters."

"Until you think about it and realize it doesn't make any sense," Rika pointed out grumpily, "The first one is set in 1998 and the second one is set in 2002. But it's 2001! And the guy's an old fart! So explain to me how someone who was supposed to be eight in '98, and twelve years old next year, can be in his twenties right now?"

Rika had to admit that she enjoyed the realization on Henry and Takato's faces. It seemed like it hadn't occurred to either of them that the story made no sense. Then Takato's answer caught her off guard, "I'm glad someone else noticed. But you're missing the point, Rika. Digimon _are_ real. We know that for a fact. And Terriermon says he knows about the digidestined. So it's safe to say that parts of it are true. Who's to say it's not all true?"

"Common sense," she countered, before standing up in frustration. Now she was too annoyed to even care about getting Renamon to absorb a digimon. She adjusted her belt and straightened herself out before turning to leave, "Forget this. I'm going home. Next time we meet, we're settling our score goggle head."

* * *

Once Rika was gone, Terriermon commented, "That girl has issues."

"Be nice Terriermon," Henry lectured his partner only for Terriermon to reason, "I'm just saying what we're all thinking. She's mean."

"Don't judge a person until you've walked a mile in their shoes," Henry reminded his partner. Unfortunately for him, Terriermon didn't seem to grasp the concept, "Her shoes are way too big for me. I'd be tripping with every step. Besides, why would I put my feet in her shoes? Is that a thing in the human world?"

"Forget it," Henry sighed. His partner was impossible. He was just hoping Takato wouldn't be so difficult, "So that's the box you lost, huh?"

"Yeah. That's my fault," Takato laughed nervously, "It turns out he wasn't the one at school causing a ruckus too. Well, that's a lie. He ate the food in the kitchen. He probably saved us from being poisoned."

"So...what weird things were you trying to piece together?" Henry asked. Takato looked back out the alley and explained quietly, "A weird thing happened with Guilmon earlier today. It was like he turned into a ghost. I don't know why though. That didn't happen to Terriermon too, did it?"

Henry looked down at his partner who was busy trying to join Guilmon under his box. Guilmon's large frame gave Terriermon no room to actually get in though. He shook his head, "No. at least, he didn't say anything."

"That's what I was afraid of," Takato frowned, "I'm beat. Let's figure this out tomorrow after school. How's that sound?"

"Sounds good. Let's meet at the gate after class!" Henry added, just now realizing how tired he felt. He scooped up Terriermon and was about to leave, but recalled his dad's words last night. He didn't want to walk back into that conversation and asked Takato, "By the way. Where have you been keeping Guilmon?"

Takato eyed him nervously, "You're not going to attack him are you?"

"Are you kidding me? Henry hasn't let me fight anything since I got here!" Terriermon complained, "I wanted to help with that big guy, but Henry kept saying no!"

"It was for your own safety," Henry said, unsure if he believed his own answer. He looked over at Takato and explained, "I can't really bring Terriermon back home. It's complicated."

"Henry's dad thinks he stole me from some girl he has a crush on," Terriermon answered. Henry groaned, unable to stop his partner from blurting out what he said before adding, "I just need a place to keep him for now."

Takato continued to eye him curiously, then eyeing Terriermon. The little digimon was giggling with delight in Henry's arms despite his attempts to control his partner. Then he sighed, "Mom and dad wouldn't let me keep him. They never saw him, so they thought I was keeping a dog in my bedroom. Anyway, I'm keeping him in a tool shed at the park for now."

"Room for one more?" Henry asked hopefully.

* * *

Renamon followed her partner, leaping from one street light to another. It was dark out now, so Renamon could move more freely and openly without having to worry about being spotted. But it was odd to see that so many people didn't feel the need to look up. Then again, it was likely they didn't need to worry about something attacking from above and could freely distract themselves with their lives.

And it seemed that was the case for her partner. Rika moved silently through the streets with her hands in her pockets. She never once looked up at the people around her or did anything to regard them. Three boys who were just a little older than her stopped upon seeing her, recognizing her, "Is that who I think it is?"

"Dude, that's the digimon queen!" another said, pointing at her, "She's the one who wins all the tournaments! She's the best player!"

"Dude, stop pointing. She's like five years younger than you! You're going to end up on a list or something," the third said.

Despite what they said, Rika kept walking - either because she wasn't interested in what they had to say or she didn't want anything to do with them. She walked through the streets like she was completely alone - but it was a self imposed isolation. She wanted to be alone. Why?

When Rika finally got to her home and started making her way up to the house, she called out Renamon's name. And she leapt to her side, "Yes Rika?"

"You said you were the strongest digimon, didn't you?" Rika asked her quietly.

Renamon answered, "I am. Which is why I chose you. So that I could become stronger.

Her answer didn't seem to satisfy Rika and she snapped, "Then how come you couldn't beat either Dokugumon and Devidramon? And that weirdo digimon!? Why haven't you won? Because it sure isn't me. I've been making the right calls in all those fights. I gave you the winning strategies and the winning power ups each time."

Renamon wasn't able to answer the question and lowered her head. Rather, she could answer but knew it wouldn't be one Rika wanted to hear. So instead she apologized, "I'm sorry to disappoint you Rika."

Rika frowned, "You'd better start shaping up if you don't want to keep looking like an idiot. Tomorrow we're going to track down those dweebs and we're going to finish what we started. Like it or not, we're taking out that baby digimon and his partner."

"Yes, Rika," Renamon agreed. Well, she agreed out loud for whatever that was worth. But she wasn't sure she agreed with her partner entirely. Not after she'd seen the way that other human treated his partner. Neither of them were strong fighters but there was no doubt in her mind that he truly, deeply cared for his partner. Why else would he have thrown himself in harm's way to protect the digimon? And it made her wonder if Rika would've done the same for her?

And she was sure Rika asking the same questions. Rika had given her the best strategies and the best power ups. But their partnership had only produced one victory and it was against a digimon who was already her equal in fights. What were they doing wrong? What was she doing wrong?

She kept these thoughts privately to herself for now. There was no need to give her partner reason to doubt her ability. In fact, she was starting to wonder if Impmon had the right idea. He'd said that she shouldn't trust her human partner. Perhaps he was right.

* * *

Juri went to school the next day worried sick that something bad happened to Takato and Guilmon. She tried to catch up to them in the crowd, but the panicked people running in the other direction made it impossible to find them. And as soon as she saw the monster, fear overtook any concern she had. Neither of them had made the news the night before, but the digimon had. And everyone was talking about it. Everyone.

The news said it was some kind of terrorist attack and most of the adults seemed to believe. But no one their age did. Some of the boys were talking about how cool it would be to actually have a digimon for themselves. Everyone else was wondering how a bunch of toys could be real, and if they were dangerous.

Which brought back her concern to Takato and Guilmon. Maybe they'd gotten pulled to the other world, or worse, they'd been captured by the government. Of course, all of her fears were alleviated when Takato walked into the classroom like nothing happened. Although it seemed weird that he wasn't with either Kazu or Kenta. And it was even weirder that he was early.

As soon as she saw him, she got up and spoke to him, "Takato, what happened last night?"

Without a word, he took her hand and led her outside into the hallway. He spoke at a whisper, "We can't talk about that at school, Juri."

That was right. She promised to keep this all secret and she's forgotten. She apologized, "Right, sorry. But I'm glad to see you're alright."

"Same," he replied. A long pause followed between the two. She wasn't sure what to say next to him - she didn't really talk to boys. Takato was probably the one she'd held the longest conversation with. She needed to talk about something else - something not digimon related, "I didn't see Kazu or Kenta with you today."

Takato scratched the back of his head nervously, "Yeah, they weren't at the park this morning. I don't know where they-"

Right on cue, both Kazu and Kenta appeared behind them. Both looked annoyed about something and she was sure they were about to let Takato know all about it. And she was right. Kazu spoke first, "Alright, spill Takato! Did you have anything to do with last night?"

"What, no! Of course not!" he lied badly. He'd just introduced them to his digimon yesterday. There was no way they were going to believe him if he tried to deny anything. That didn't exactly stop him from trying, "I was with Juri!"

"What?" Juri blinked while the boys added, "Juri!?"

While it was technically true, she didn't expect him to just blurt it out. In fact, she felt her face turn red from embarrassment. She wasn't embarrassed to be around boys, just flustered that she was the cover he'd chosen. Hi next couple of words didn't help as he scrambled to come up with his excuse, "Yes! It was a prank! Some Christmas lights, a fog machine, and a radio playing a tape of dinosaur noises! She was helping me clean up!"

"You really expect us to believe that?" Kazu groaned in frustration. Takato nodded, "It's true!"

"You know we could just go to that same place later after school and find out for ourselves right?" Kenta pointed out. Takato hung his head shamefully and pushed his fingers together, "Well it was worth a shot, y'know?"

"How did you get a digimon? Of all people! YOU!" Kazu gestured at him angrily, obviously annoyed about the fact that he didn't have a digimon, "I'm twice the card player you are!"

It was here that Juri knew she had to defuse the situation, "Hey! It's okay, Kazu! I don't have a digimon either."

"You don't even like digimon!" Kazu pointed at her angrily. Takato slapped his hand away, "Don't point fingers, guys. And can we please not fight about this? I don't want to make a scene in front of-"

"Shouldn't you four be in class?"

Juri wasn't sure if she was happy to be saved or flustered to get in trouble. It was their teacher Miss Asaji wearing the oddest of coats - a ratty old blue long coat with yellow stripes going down the arms and a hood on the back. The coat was obviously a size too small for her, but it helped outline her more feminine features and came out to about the size of a small trench on her. She gestured at the clock and said, "You've got about a minute to get in there before you're late."

"Nice coat, Miss Asaji," Takato nodded, sliding the door open and pushing everyone inside. Juri hurriedly made her way to her desk, trying to hide how red her face was as the bell rang. Miss Asaji followed inside a second after them and began, "Good morning class. I know you're all probably worried about what happened last night. So to help take your mind off things, we're going to jump right back into our studies and work extra hard!"

"Oh come on, Miss Asaji! A digimon showed up yesterday!" one of the boys groaned, "Can't we skip class for a day?"

"We still have a curriculum to maintain," she reminded them, slapping the books under her arm, "So take out your textbooks and turn to chapter 4, so we can start on geometry."

The class groaned, but Juri couldn't help but feel relieved. This meant no one could see how red she was.

* * *

Rika got home from her private school just in time to swap out of her gray uniform and throw on her preferred t-shirt and jeans. She already had her plan for the day and knew exactly what she wanted to do. Her homework could wait for now. She had a score to settle. Part of her wondered if she was being petty over this. The other part didn't care. Once her deck was safely in its pouch, she made her way to the living room only to see her mother there.

Her mother of all people. It was such a rare sight, that she did a double take upon seeing her. Her mother was young, pale skinned with brown hair and a pretty face that made men take another glance. And some women. Not that Rika cared. Her mother smiled and waved, "Oh! Ruki! You're here! Come say hi to the fashion designer I model for, Sora Ishida!"

Rika made her way into the living room and saw another woman sitting on the couch opposite her mom. She looked about the same age as her mom but had a more serious expression her face and more vibrant red hair that she trimmed short. The woman smiled at her, "Hi Ruki. It's nice to see you, again."

"Hi," Rika frowned, really hoping her mom wasn't about to propose what she was about to propose. Then her mom said the words she dreaded while holding up some sketches and fabric, "She just brought over her designs for this fall's fashion line to look over. Aren't they cute? Anyway, we needed someone who could model the girls' line and since you're so experienced at it, we thought you'd like to join me for another-"

"No thanks. Bye!" Rika said, bolting for the door to get as far away as possible. She was tired of her mother constantly trying to get her into fashion and modeling. It shouldn't have been that hard to figure out. She hated frilly dresses and pretty ribbons and make up and everything else about it.

As she closed the door, she heard the designer say, "I see your daughter still has her attitude Mimi."

Mimi? That wasn't right. Her mom's name was Rumiko. No. Wait. She didn't care. She wanted out fast. Once she was safely out of the house and onto the street, she called aloud, "Ready, Renamon?"

"I am," she replied, appearing beside her. Rika took out her digivice, unsure of where to look for either boys. But once they were close to the digimon, her digivice should start pointing her in the right direction. That's when she'd make her move.

* * *

Henry waited for Takato at the school gate like they agreed, watching everyone else in the school hurry home. Terriermon was probably throwing a fit in the shed from boredom, and the idea of him running off and getting into trouble kept Henry worried. He trusted his partner...to a point. Then again, he was able to stay still like a doll whenever Suzie played with him. This shouldn't have been impossible for his little partner.

His anxiety wasn't helped by that fact that Takato was taking his sweet time to meet him at the gate. Just as he was sure he'd been forgotten and he was about to leave, he noticed Takato coming his way along with three of his classmates. Henry adjusted his bag nervously, certain that the boy had gotten himself into trouble based on the way he walked with his head down.

Takato smiled, "Hey Henry."

"What's all this?" Henry asked. The boy with the green visor demanded, "Yeah, what is this? Who's he?"

"Keep it down," Takato begged of the boy before explaining to Henry, "It's okay, they know about the digimon."

"WHAT!?" Henry almost gasped in disbelief, until Takato shushed him. Then the boy with glasses beside them asked, "So does he have a digimon too? Is he a digidestined like you are?'

"I'm not a digidestined!" Takato argued at just above a whisper, sounding more annoyed the longer the conversation went on, "Look, I said I'd show you guys again. Just...stop talking so loud, okay?"

Although he said that, it didn't do anything to stop those boys from speaking so loudly. He turned back to Henry and put his hands together apologetically, "I am so sorry for them. I caved to pressure. It's a weakness. I'm sorry. Which is weird because I usually don't but I guess it's just the new situation."

"Come on, Takato. Are we going to get to see the digimon or what?" the boy with glasses begged. Takato sighed, "I really am sorry."

Henry looked between the three additional kids and figured they were part of his friend group. It would've been hard to keep secrets from his friends, but that didn't mean it would've been safe for them to get involved in whatever was going on. Henry patted the boy's shoulder, "Don't worry about it. I probably would've caved too. I'm Jiangliang, but everyone calls me Henry."

"Hiya Henry, I'm Kenta," the boy with glasses answered first, only to get cut off by the boy with the visor, "And I'm Kazu, the cool one."

"And...she's Juri," the girl answered with a yellow sock puppet that suddenly appeared from nowhere. Henry looked from the puppet to the girl, noticing that she was suddenly looking away, "Uh-huh. Anyway, we should go before our partners start eating the shed."

Henry took the lead for them since Takato appeared too overwhelmed to think properly. It was a good thing that the park wasn't too far either. All the while, he tried to not chuckle at the questions he was bombarded with - trying to maintain a calm appearance despite the fact that the questions came one after another.

As they made the familiar trip up the steps, Takato finally spoke, "Guys, you have to promise not to run off screaming again."

"What? We didn't do that!" Kazu said in their defense in a way that screamed they had. Takato nodded, "You're right. I must've been confused by the loud screams coming from your mouth and the fact that you left without coming back."

Then Kenta reasoned, "It was a tactical retreat, y'know? We needed to assess the situation from afar to understand it."

"Any further back and you'd need to mail your assessment," Takato answered with a smile, before finally hurrying along. Once they reached the top, they found the gate into the shed broken open. It didn't take long for Takato to fly into a panic, "Oh no. GUILMON!"

He hurried into the shed, calling his partner's name. Kazu groaned, "He didn't get out, did he?"

"I don't think so. Look!" Henry gestured at the gate, noticing something Takato had missed. The gate itself was fine but the lock on the outside had been smashed. It had been broken from the outside. Then he remembered the men in the Hazmat suits. Fear turned to panic. He hurried after Takato into the shed to find-

Brightly colored streamers running from wall to wall, a bunch of half eaten cakes, balloons, and Terriermon sitting with Guilmon and the little strange white digimon from before. Takato looked around in utter confusion, looking to Henry as if he would have an explanation. The boy could only shrug back before Terriermon leapt into his arms, "Hey Henry! Calumon came back to throw a birthday party!"

"Birthday party? Who's birthday is it?" Henry asked dumbfoundedly. The little digimon called Calumon giggled, "No one silly! But they'd never seen a birthday party before so I threw them one. I almost couldn't either. There was this funny guy on the door holding it shut, but I convinced him to open it with some gentle persuasion!"

"He means he bashed open the lock with a rock!" Terriermon clarified, "He may be odd but he's a lot of fun! He brought us cake and balloons and everything!"

"And where exactly did you get the cake?" Takato asked nervously. It was at this point that Juri, Kazu, and Kenta finally entered the tool shed. Juri stood just behind the boys, using herself to block them so that they'd run right into her if they tried to flee. The two boys seemed nervous at first, until they noticed Guilmon's face was covered in a beard frosting. Then their confidence seemed to find its way back to them.

"That's it? Takato, your digimon looks dopey," Kazu folded his arms behind his head. Kenta approaches the digimon and patted its head, "Whoa! So cool!"

Guilmon turned his head in confusion, licking his frosting beard off so that he could sniff the two boys. Kazu recoiled fearfully while Kenta seemed amused. Guilmon remarked, "You guys don't smell like pee today."

"What? Why would we smell like pee!?" Kazu took offense to that, "We don't pee our pants."

Kenta added, "Just how would you happen to know what pee smells like?"

"Guilmon go in corner!" Guilmon pointed at a corner of the shed marked by stains and what looked like a dried mound of dirt. Takato added, "We should probably skip out on that cake. Anyway, Henry - we should probably start comparing notes."

Henry breathed a sigh of relief, glad to see that things were finally starting to move, "Yeah, that sounds like a good-"

"Found you goggle head," came the familiar cry of an angry girl. Waiting for them at the entrance was the ever scowling Rika with a hand on her hip, "We got a score to settle."

"Do you just follow us around or something?" Henry clicked his tongue angrily, annoyed that she just refused to leave them alone. Takato answered, "You used that radar on the digivice, didn't you? Three digimon and two digivices right here. We might as well have had a big flashing sign over our heads saying, 'here we are'."

Rika gave no answer, instead snapping her fingers to signal her partner to appear. Then she pointed at Takato, "This time, you're going down goggle head."

Takato closed his eyes and answered, "I don't want to fight you. But if you want to fight so bad...we will. But outside, not here."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Rika wants to let Takato have it, but Renamon finds herself doubting her reasons. Who will come out ahead in this fight? What is the Juggernaut program? Why does Rika act out? Will Henry intervene this time? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out in two weeks on Friday February 28th at 8 PM CST. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section and I'll try to respond as soon as I'm able. And hey, why not follow or favorite the story to keep up with all the latest updates? That's all I have for now! I'll see you guys in the next installment! Now let's take a look at previews for the next chapter!

"Uh huh," Henry folded his arms and leaned back against the wall, intent on questioning Takato just a little longer, "So what? You think we're digidestined or something?"

"I wouldn't call myself that," Takato scratched the back of his head, "I wasn't chosen by destiny or anything."

"So what would you call yourself?" Henry asked, now curious to see what Takato thought on the whole thing. He answered with a big smile, "Tamer."

Tamer? Why a tamer? That name sounded too mean. Like he was forcing his digimon to learn tricks and do things he didn't want to do. Which made sense when he considered that Rika called herself that a minute ago, "So like Rika said she was going to be the best tamer? Doesn't that sound a little...I don't know, mean?"

Takato's smile grew wider, "But then it'd be just like the books!"


	7. Gargomon - The Champion

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 7: Gargomon - The Champion**

"Sir, we have more wild ones," Riley announced as the alarms started blaring. She looked at the screens and watched three symbols moving freely, already processing the steps she'd need to take to launch the tracking programs.

Yamaki followed all three targets moving fast across the large screen, wondering where they would attempt to make their entrance into the world. But there was a problem: there were three of them. They only had one QRF. They'd need to split up the team. But the team's effectiveness would go down dramatically. They'd need to pick one. But which one? Which target should he choose? He asked, "Can we get a scan on them?"

"Deploying scanning program now," Riley answered, "Locking onto targets. Identifying."

"Sir, they're bioemerging!" Tally announced aloud, "We don't have time to complete the scans. Which one do we go after?"

Yamaki panicked, looking at where the three targets were moving. Shinjuku, Odaiba, and Oifutu - all public areas with a lot of foot traffic. Why here? Why did they all concentrate over Tokyo? He closed his eyes and pointing at one. He just wished it was the right one, "That one! Deploy there!"

"Understood. Deploying the QRF!" Riley announced as she slammed the alarm to mobilize the QRF team. Yamaki watched all three targets disappear. There was nothing more he could do now. He made his way to laboratory to hurry the scientists along. They needed the Juggernaut Program now more than ever.

* * *

Rika had been waiting for this fight all day. She couldn't wait to finally beat that rookie Guilmon and wipe that smile off of the goggle head's face. Ever since he led her out here, he wore a confident smile on his face like he had a plan. But it didn't matter what plan he had up his sleeve. It wouldn't change the fact she was the better tamer. And she was going to prove it. And it looked like all those dopey kids were coming along to watch - as annoying it as was.

Goggle head led the way to a nearby soccer field, making his way out to the center with her just a few steps behind him. They took opposite sides of the center position, squaring off like they were about to start a soccer match. Then Takato made another desperate plea at peace, "We don't have to fight each other, Rika. We can talk this out. We're on the same side."

"Just laying down, huh? Your digimon is as good as mine," Rika folded her arms, looking over her shoulder to see Renamon at the ready. The goggle head's digimon was also beside him, but he was busy munching on a piece of cake that he'd brought from the shed. Rika rolled her eyes at the digimon's own indifference to its impending doom. That sat well with her though, that just meant it would be easier to beat him. Then Rika snapped her fingers, "Take him out Renamon!"

Renamon leapt onto Guilmon, tackling the unaware digimon to the ground where they started rolling to pin the other down. Whenever they reached the end of the roll, Renamon had Guilmon pinned beneath her and the dinosaur was digging his teeth into her arms. It only lasted a second until Guilmon started another roll to drag Renamon around, while she desperately tried to get her arm free. Without missing a beat, Rika knew what Renamon wanted to do and produced a card from her deck, "Digimodify! Strength Boost Activate!"

With a swift kick to the gut, Renamon was able to finally force open the dinosaur's jaw. She followed it up with another kick that sent the dinosaur flying through the goalie's net and into the trees. Renamon used this advantage to leap into the air and fired a round of her attack, "Diamond Storm!"

The crystals tore into the red dinosaur, finally able to pierce through the digimon's skin and hurt it. Panic appeared on the goggle head's face as the gravity of his situation finally sank in - he was in over his head with no way out for himself or his partner. Then Takato turned to her to make another plea to peace, "What is the point of all this? What do you get by beating me?"

"I get to prove I"m the best digimon tamer," Rika said, "I'm going to make Renamon the strongest digimon there is. That's all there is to it."

Takato's eyes seemed to widen, "To what? What for? What does she get by becoming the strongest digimon? What sort of fulfillment do you get from making her like that? Because all I see right now are two bullies."

She could see what he was trying to do and it wasn't going to work, "Nice try goggle head, but words aren't going to save you this time."

* * *

From the sidelines, Juri watched in horror as the two digimon fight on while Takato and Rika continued to argue. She just couldn't understand it. Why was Rika so angry? And why was she taking it out on Takato? It didn't help that Kazu and Kenta were cheering the fight on, "Come on, Takato! You can't let a girl beat you!"

"Yeah! Do something already! Use a card! Tell Guilmon to attack! Something!"

Despite their cheers and advice, all she could see Takato doing was talk. It was like he didn't even want to fight - he didn't want to do this. So why'd he do it? Did he think he could talk Rika out of it? She seemed to have her heart set on it. Then Calumon commented from beside her, "Huh, those two are playing way too rough with each other. If they're not careful, they're going to get hurt."

"Calumon, they're fighting!" Henry pointed out in disbelief, "They're not having fun, they're fighting!"

"But why would they fight? Aren't they friends?" Calumon asked innocently enough, somehow oblivious to the possibility that people could be mean spirited to each other. Terriermon answered, "Friends is kind of a stretch. Henry, shouldn't we help them?"

"NO!" Henry snapped immediately, trying to keep his partner as far from that vicious fight as he could. Terriermon's ears dropped, "Why not, Henry? If we don't go in there - Guilmon's going to be Deadmon."

"I..." Henry paused, unable to even finish the sentence he started. Then Terriermon sighed, "Okay, forget this, I'm going to help him!"

"TERRIERMON!" Henry tried to scold his partner but that didn't stop the bunny eared digimon from running out into the fight. Renamon was on the defensive now, running circles around Guilmon while red fire spat out of its mouth, "Pyrosphere!"

If Renamon's diamond storm was able to shred steel, then Guilmon's pyrosphere could melt it and set it aflame. And that was the danger Terriermon was running into. Henry gave chase and Juri gasped as the two just narrowly avoided getting set aflame. During one of Renamon's dodges, she rolled between Terriermon and Henry. At the same time, Guilmon shot a blast of fire out of his mouth and it set the grass between them on fire.

Henry leapt back, watching helplessly as Terriermon continued on, "Guys! Stop fighting!"

Juri tried to work up the courage to call out to them only to be blinded by a sudden flash of white light - a bright light coming from little Calumon beside her. The little digimon seemed to be in pain too as the light came forward. She raised up her arms to cover her eyes but she could hear Terriermon cry out, "Terriermon! Digivolve to! Gargomon!"

When the bright flash of light faded, there was a new digimon standing in the middle of the soccer field - about the size of a full grown adult. It looked like someone had blown up Terriermon like a balloon, stuck him in a pair of pants and forced him to wield a pair of guns over his arms. Without a word, the digimon trained those guns on Renamon and started firing. The guns sang like a chain saw, firing an endless stream of bullets that followed the fox digimon as she moved to retreat. At some point, her path put both Rika and Takato in the line of fire. Juri gasped, closing her eyes and trying to convince herself that they would be alright.

* * *

"You don't have to do this Rika," Takato reasoned, "You can be strong without having to take your anger out on others! We can work together, all three of us!"

"Not interested in that goggle head," Rika answered bitterly, "You owe me. Now give up and we can make this easy!"

"Terriermon! Digivolve to! Gargomon!"

Rika looked off to the side where Gargomon now stood, aiming his guns at Renamon and firing. Rika readied her digivice, planning on helping her partner before things went south but the digimon bee lined for the forest. And Renamon's path put her in Gargomon's line of fire. As the line of bullets drew closer, Takato leapt onto her and pushed her down, "LOOK OUT!"

Rika panicked as bullets zipped past over her head, with only Takato on top of her. _On top of her_. That thought alone turned the panic into rage. What was with this kid and pushing himself in harm's way to help her? What, did he think he was some knight in shining armor? As if! Once the gun fire died down, she pushed him off with all her might, "Get off me, goggle head!"

He rolled onto his back beside her on to the grass and massaged the spot where she shoved him, "Good to see you're okay. I'm fine too."

"Stop trying to help me and fight me!" Rika demanded, pushing herself off the ground and turning to face the boy angrily. The boy smiled up at her goofily, "Most people say thank you. Anyway, we should probably do something about that."

He pointed at the champion digimon firing his guns like crazy into the surrounding forest. Rika hated to agree with the idiot but they had to do something about that digimon right now. It didn't seem like he could control his own weapons and he was going to tear the park apart if he wasn't stopped now. But how? Dokugumon was a champion, sure, but the spider didn't have rapid fire gatling guns on each arm. Renamon's speed could keep her just one step ahead of Gargomon. So she'd need speed. But speed wouldn't do much if she couldn't take the hits. She nodded and produced two cards from her deck, passing one to Takato, "You know how to use these cards, right?"

"This isn't exactly the time for a card game," Takato complained, "Gargomon's out of control and we're in the line of fire."

Rika rolled her eyes. This was why she didn't care for newbies. She took the card in her hand and answered, "Just follow my lead, goggle head. Digimodify! Speed boost activate!"

She swiped her card through the digivice and waited for Renamon's speed to kick in. Then she looked at Takato expectantly, knowing it was his turn to do the same. He turned the card in his hard anxiously, like something clicked in his head, before he finally swiped the card, "I get what you're thinking about. Okay. Digimodify!"

He swiped the card through the digivice, "WarGreymon's Brave Shield Activate!"

A golden shield with a sun crest appeared in Guilmon's arms and Takato called out, "Guilmon! Use the shield to draw Gargomon's fire."

Guilmon sniffed the shield and then held it up towards Gargomon, calling the champion's name to get his attention, "Okay. GARGOMON!"

Gargomon turned to face Guilmon, still firing his guns. He pleaded while vibrating furiously with each shot, "Gu-gu-ilm-ilmon! H-Henry! He-elp-lp! I c-can't st-stop-p fir-firin-ing!"

Then Guilmon ran at Gargomon from the front, using the shield to absorb every shot. Rika tightened her fist in anticipation. Her plan was working. With any luck, Renamon would know what do next without her having to say a word. Then she saw a flicker in the forest. Renamon was on the move now, circling around Gargomon and running into him so hard from behind that she was able to pin him to the ground. His guns were still firing though, and each kick back had him vibrate violently. Then Guilmon rushed in and used his shield to help hold the digimon down.

"Gargomon!" Henry called out over the roar of the bullets, running to his partner's side, "Gargomon! Stop shooting!"

"I-I do-don't kno-now h-how!" Gargomon answered. Takato rushed in too, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Gargomon! Relax your hands!"

"What-at han-hands?" Gargomon answered, "I h-ha-ave gu-uns n-ow-ow!"

"Just try it! Relax them! Like...relaxing a fist," Takato shouted out. Once he said that, the guns stopped firing and Gargomon stopped shaking. Both Guilmon and Renamon fell off, Renamon complaining, "That was like riding a Minotarumon. We are never doing that again."

"Takatomon, I'm dizzy and the ground is shaking," Guilmon whimpered. Takato went to his partner's side, patting the little digimon's head and adding, "It's alright buddy. Take a minute and relax."

Rika didn't care so much for her partner relaxing though. She was upset. She'd been trying to get the fox to digivolve since day one. And she had some explaining to do, "What gives, Renamon? How could you let that weak little Terriermon digivolve before you? He hasn't even fought before!"

"I'm sorry, Rika. I'll try harder," Renamon answered meekly as she tried to keep herself upright. That answer was hardly satisfying to Rika, who felt only disappointment at her partner's continued failure. She clicked her tongue and looked over at Takato. She wanted to beat him. But he'd saved her twice now. She'd have to let this go for now. But that digimon digivolve before Renamon. What was she doing wrong? What was wrong with her?

She marched over to the boy and held out her hand. He gave her a confused look at first, and offered his. He seemed to think she wanted a hand shake. She slapped his hand away, "The card you idiot."

"Oh," he fumbled the card in his hand and offered it back, "Um, thanks."

"Whatever. Let's call it even for now," she frowned, swiping the card and turning to leave. Then he grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around, "Wait! Look, you don't like me. I get it. Well, not really. I have no idea what I did or what your deal is. But something is going on and we need to work together to figure out what that is!"

She looked at everyone there - the weird guy whose digimon was now a champion, the even weirder guy with the digimon he treated like a pet, the girl with the sock puppet, and the two other boys who were jumping with excitement at what they were calling the coolest thing they'd ever seen. She clicked her tongue. There was no way she'd ever want anything to do with these losers and turned to leave, "Forget that noise. I'm going home."

"She always does just leave, huh?" Gargomon remarked as he finally pushed himself back up off the ground, "I'm hungry. Can we have some more cake?"

"Me too," Gargomon added.

* * *

Henry chuckled at his partner's bottomless stomach and pointed out the little detail that he'd missed, "How are you going to eat with guns on your hands?"

Gargomon examined the little arm cannons he had on the ends of his arms now and tried shaking them off to no avail. Then he tried to get a leg on it and tried to kick it off, only for him to go red in the face from the effort, "How do I get them off? How am I supposed to eat?"

"I can help silly!" Juri volunteered excitedly. Henry rested his arms behind his head at her thoughtfulness but realized that there was another problem that they weren't seeing. Spoon feeding him was a short term solution, they needed to de-digivolve him so that he could feed himself. With his appetite, they couldn't afford to have someone around all the time just to feed him. Worse yet, it would be impossible to hide him now.

Takato motioned for everyone's attention and gestured back to the shed, "Let's go back inside and talk. Oh, and nobody eat the cake. I don't know when these guys have ever washed their hands."

He led the way back into the shed, with Guilmon happily coming along still dragging WarGreymon's shield behind him. The rest of the group followed a short distance behind him - mostly because Kazu and Kenta were busy climbing all over Gargomon to see his guns for themselves. Gargomon complained the whole time, "Oh man, can you guys please stop climbing all over me? These guns are heavy enough!"

"But they're so cool!" Kenta cheered excitedly, "Look at them! You practically cut down half the forest doing this! That's awesome!"

"Awesome's not the word I'd use," Takato remarked, pocketing his hands sheepishly. Once they were back in the shed, Guilmon started munching on some of the leftover cake. Without any plates, Juri just scooped up a handful of it with a napkin and dropped it into Gargomon's mouth. Any joy the digimon could have derived was lost because Kazu and Kenta refused to leave him alone.

"So notes! What's your story with Terriermon?" Takato asked Henry curiously, "How did he get here?"

Henry answered, "That new computer game that came out. I was playing as Terriermon when suddenly all the other digimon started attacking him. I tried to stop them but Terriermon got overpowered. The next thing I know, there's this light and Terriermon's in my lap. What about you?"

"I...drew a picture of Guilmon," Takato thumbed at his partner, "I made up a bunch of stats and everything. Then my card reader started eating my drawings - before I could stop it, it became a digivice and it was pointing me to Guilmon."

The digimon was done with the cake now and had retreated into digging his hole again, making it bigger and deeper. Henry eyed the digimon nervously. It was obvious that Takato cared for his partner, but he was treating him like a pet. Then again, he was hardly any better. The only reason Terriermon was here was because his dad would kill him if he brought him home again."

And it occurred to him something was wrong with what Takato said, "Did you say you made up?"

He noted Takato beaming with pride, "That's right. Came up with him on the spot one day in class. Well, in the hallway. I was late. That was when all this weirdness started. I've been trying to figure out what's been going on ever since. Oh! By the way! Did Terriermon ever start becoming...ghostlike?"

"Ghostlike?"

"You know...like he was half there and half not. Kinda see through but only for half of him?" Takato asked. Henry has no idea how to make heads or tails of such a weird question. Then Takato added, "I guess not. That's too bad. It started happening to Guilmon yesterday. Then Calumon showed up and...where's Calumon?"

The question sparked everyone's attention now and they all looked around. Kazu complained, "Oh man. That little guy probably ran off when all the fighting started!"

"But he was right next to me a second ago," Juri pointed out, "I hope he's okay."

"He probably ran off to go break into the school and scare the nurse again," Takato commented. Henry couldn't believe it had been little Calumon and asked, "Really? That was him?"

Kazu added, "That little guy was the one who broke into the nurse's office and caused all that trouble? How did something that small cause such a mess?"

Kenta took that moment to put his foot in his mouth, "It's cause Juri's a girl and girls are afraid of small things like mice and bugs. That's probably why the nurse started screaming, too."

Unfortunately for Kenta, he was too busy talking to notice Juri had snuck up behind him with a fist full of cake. Before he knew what was happening, she smothered his hair with it. The boy yelped in surprise and toppled over, "Hey, what gives?"

"Boys are dumb," was the only answer she gave before hurrying back to get more cake for Gargomon. Gargomon sighed, "Thanks for feeding me Juri but I like eating with my own hands. How do I get them back?"

"What we have to do is digivolve you back, which usually means tiring you out or you getting beaten up by a stronger opponent," Henry explained to his partner's dismay. Gargomon countered, "I don't like the idea where you guys beat me up."

"Well how about the idea where you tire yourself out?" Takato suggested, miming each action as he listed them off, "Run laps around the park, lifting weights, jumping jacks, do that running leap thing, or whatever. I don't know. Do you want to stand upside down on your head?"

"That'll just give me a headache!" Gargomon hissed, until Takato added, "And it'll wear you out faster! It's worth a shot."

Gargomon gave Henry a confused look, as if he were expecting some kind of approval from him. Henry could only shrug in confusion, unsure of the plan himself and unable to think of any other ideas. Gargomon shrugged back and marched over to a wall, "Can you guys help me up? This is kinda hard to do when I'm this big!"

"I'll do it!" Kazu and Kenta volunteered in unison with raised hands, making their way to the large digimon to help flip him over. It took next to no effort to get the digimon balanced on his arm cannons, using their leveled surface to keep himself balance. Guilmon, amused by Gargomon's balancing act and curious enough to give it a try, attempted the same. On the first attempt, the digimon fell over onto what remained of the cake. After a sickening display where he licked it all off himself, he tried again while using his tail to support himself. This time, he fell face forwards. That didn't stop Kazu and Kenta from cheering him on. Juri even got in on it, attempting to hold Guilmon's legs steady so that he could balance himself before letting go.

All the while, Henry kept his eyes on Takato. There was definitely something off about him. There was no denying that. But there was something else. Something that was hard to place. He was supposed to be as new at this as the others, so how did he happen to know how to get Terriermon back to normal? And how did he know how to stop Gargomon's guns? And Devidramon disappeared last night. How?

"You've thought a lot about all of this, haven't you?" Henry asked. Takato nodded ecstatically, "Well, digimon are awesome, y'know? I...just thought it'd be cool to...finally have one. And now I do. But if digimon are real, it makes ya wonder how much else of it is real too? Like the digidestined in the books, or the crests, the sovereign digimon; not to mention the evil digimon like the Dark Masters. As cool as it is, I can't help but worry."

"Uh huh," Henry folded his arms and leaned back against the wall, intent on questioning Takato just a little longer, "So what? You think we're digidestined or something?"

"I wouldn't call myself that," Takato scratched the back of his head, "I wasn't chosen by destiny or anything."

"So what would you call yourself?" Henry asked, now curious to see what Takato thought on the whole thing. He answered with a big smile, "Digimon Tamer."

Tamer? Why a tamer? That name sounded too mean. Like he was forcing his digimon to learn tricks and do things he didn't want to do. Which made sense when he considered that Rika called herself that a minute ago, "So like how Rika said she was going to be the best tamer? Doesn't that sound a little...I don't know, mean?"

Takato's smile grew wider, "But then it'd be just like the books!"

Henry chuckled. He'd read the books too and knew exactly what Takato was talking about, "Well you do have the goggles and the hoodie. But they were called digidestined. And I don't think you're a thousand year old life form from another world."

"And if I was?" Takato raised an eyebrow, a playful smile drawing itself on his lips. Henry balked at the idea. Sure the kid was weird, but odds were that he was trying to emulate a character in a book. There was no way he was a thousand years old. Then he looked over at Gargomon, disappointed to see that his partner still hadn't changed back, "So how long does that take?"

He didn't have time to be here all day. He had homework to do. Then again, maybe he should rethink his priorities with wild digimon running around. And who knew when the next digimon would appear.

* * *

IceDevimon gasped for breath as he appeared in the strangest part of the human world. It seemed like he'd landed on the roof of a building of some sort. A rather large building. The devil digimon examined himself carefully to make sure that he'd made it through all right. His white leather attire seemed to be okay, along with his chains, boots. Then he looked over his shoulder - both wings were still there. He grabbed at his head to find two long horns where they should be. He seemed to be okay.

Then he took a moment to take in his surroundings. This was the human world - there wasn't a doubt of his mind about that. He could tell from the many squishy pink humans going about their lives on the streets below. But the sight also gave him something else to behold - countless tall buildings stretching as far as the eye could see illuminated in the dark by lights as countless as the stars. There was nothing like this in the Digital World.

Or rather, there was no longer anything like this in the Digital World. But those were memories for another time. He reminded himself of what he was here for - to find the human who could make him stronger. The girl who'd turned him down because someone else came. He wanted his revenge - to prove that he was stronger and was more deserving. He would just have to find them. And it wouldn't be hard either. He could smell the fox digimon who took his place. Which meant the girl couldn't be far behind. Now was the time to make his move.

* * *

Kazu and Kenta departed after the novelty of a real life digimon wore off so that they could go watch the new episode of a show they enjoyed. Then Henry left after Gargomon changed back to Terriermon, relieved to see his partner but knowing he had to start his homework and didn't want to disappoint his parents by not completing it on time. This just left Juri and Takato who were the last to leave. But this was by no accident. Although Juri pretended to be busy cheering on Guilmon as he tried to stand on his head, she'd heard Takato talking to Henry. And she couldn't help but notice that he'd left a part out.

A part that he explicitly asked her not to talk about. She didn't mind keeping secrets, she had a few of her own. But something like that...well, there had to be something wrong and his refusal to acknowledge it was a problem. Despite that, she wasn't able to bring herself to face Takato over it. And she sheepishly through her sock puppet in his face once they were at the bottom of the steps to the shed, "Why didn't you tell Henry about your hands becoming like ghosts? Or Rika?"

Takato seemed flustered by the question, "I...have reasons Juri."

"I'm not Juri, I'm the superintendent!" she insisted with her sock puppet voice, trying to avoid eye contact. Takato threw up his hands defensively, "Look, Juri...I...um..."

He seemed unable to answer. Either he was too embarrassed, or was too ashamed of the answer. He grumbled under his breath before explaining, "Look, the truth is I haven't been completely honest about a lot of things, not just that. And...I could explain it...but it's better for you if I don't."

"How is it better? Woof! Lying is bad!" Juri countered, finally forcing herself to look up at Takato. Takato was rubbing his arm nervously now, "Don't get me wrong Juri. Or superintendent. Am I really talking to a sock puppet right now? What's wrong with me? Never mind, I'm not keeping secrets because I'm up to no good. It's...there are a lot of bad people, people who might want to hurt me or anyone close to me."

Juri blinked at that statement. Was he saying he was concerned for her safety? He looked away quietly, "These people showed up before - started shooting at another digimon who'd appeared before that one. And...I don't know what they did to it. But if they knew what I was, they'd go after me too. And they'd probably do to me what they did to that Dokugumon. Which is why it's just better for you if...you don't know anything. If you don't know anything, they won't come after you."

"Woof, so you're trying to protect Juri?" Juri blushed as she said that out loud, looking away now to hide the fact that her cheeks were flush. A boy was trying to protect her? A boy who wasn't her little brother or her dad? Did Takato like her? As in like _like_ her? No, that had to be a mistake. She wasn't worth liking. She wasn't worth being around. Bad things only ever happened to her. Then Takato's answer made her flush more, "Yes."

She spun around now so that he couldn't see her face. Takato added, "But whatever is doing it to the digimon can't be good. It only affected Guilmon which makes me wonder if where we are in this park is closer to the origin signal than we realize. But if that's the case, which direction is it? Because it didn't happen at Henry's or at Rika's. So what was it? Humans shouldn't have that kind of technology yet."

That last part caught her attention. What did he mean humans? He was a person too, right? A human. But he said it like he wasn't one. And whatever happened to Guilmon, happened to him too. And he said those people in the weird suits would come after him if they knew who he was. So...who was he?

"Anyway, it's getting late Juri," Takato added, "We should probably head home. I'll walk you there."

Juri nodded quietly, still trying to process everything that had just been told to her. Takato liked her. And wasn't a person. Maybe he was a digimon? A digimon cared about her. That was more terrifying that she wanted to admit. Because now she could only think about what the actual Takato looked like.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** New digimon are loose in the Real World! What do they want? Can the new team of Tamers come together to defeat them, or will they keep infighting? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out next week on Friday March 8th at 8 PM CST. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section and I'll try to respond as soon as I'm able. And hey, why not follow or favorite the story to keep up with all the latest updates? That's all I have for now! I'll see you guys in the next installment! Now let's take a look at previews for the next chapter!

"You embarrassed me twice already. You said you were the strongest digimon, right? So how did you lose to a Dokugumon and how did you that idiot who's partner never fought before manage to digivolve before you!?"

Her partner was eerily silent, and that just made her angrier, "ANSWER ME!"

"I didn't lie to you Rika," she answered, "I'm doing my best. Perhaps the problem isn't me."

"Oh so it's my fault, is that it?" Rika felt her blood boil and her face go red, "Because I keep giving you every advantage, every power up, any thing you could want or need. Even my strategies work. How do I know? Because the goggle head followed my strategy to beat Gargomon and it worked. So why aren't you getting the results?"


	8. A Deal With IceDevimon

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 8: A Deal With IceDevimon**

When Rika finally arrived at her front door, she stopped just short of opening it and called for her partner quietly, "Renamon."

"Yes, Rika?" her partner answered from behind her. She turned to face the fox and noticed the concern in her eyes. If she knew what was good for her, then she definitely should be afraid. She looked the fox in the eye - wanting to get all her frustration out here and now, "You embarrassed me twice already. You said you were the strongest digimon, right? So how did you lose to a Dokugumon and how did that idiot who's partner never fought before manage to digivolve before you!?"

Her partner was eerily silent, and that just made her angrier, "ANSWER ME!"

"I didn't lie to you Rika," she answered, "I'm doing my best. Perhaps the problem isn't me."

"Oh so it's my fault, is that it?" Rika felt her blood boil and her face go red, "Because I keep giving you every advantage, every power up, any thing you could want or need. Even my strategies work. How do I know? Because the goggle head followed my strategy to beat Gargomon and it worked. So why aren't you getting the results?"

Renamon was even quieter now, and her expression was hard to read. Was she mad? Scared? Livid? She didn't care. All she wanted was answers and the fact that Renamon wasn't giving any only fueled her anger. Every second without an explanation only made her blood boil more. Then, finally, Renamon gave an answer, "Perhaps this partnership was a mistake. It's obvious that we're incompatible with each other. I think it would be best if we part ways."

"That's fine with me," Rika answered, watching Renamon disappear. Then she stamped her foot in anger. How dare she disappear on her. She shouted out into the darkness, "If I can't help you, there's no way anyone else can!"

Nothing. No response. She'd left. Fine. They always left in the end anyway. Her dad left, mom was rarely around...what did she expect? She preferred to be alone. It took another moment for her to cool down enough to slip back into the house, to find her mom still talking with that fashion designer earlier. Even when mom was around, all she cared about was fashion. She hoped to avoid getting dragged into another conversation about being a model again. She hated modeling. As she tiptoed by the living room, she over heard the designer say, "You can't keep trying to make Ruki like what you don't. She's a tomboy. Like I was when we were her age. It's just not her thing and forcing her will only push her away - sort of like what happened with my mom and me."

"I just want to have the same kind of relationship with her like I had with my mom. Before...y'know," her mom's voice fell quiet. The fashion designer added, "That's why you got so close to Koushiro's mom after you two started dating. Have you heard from him recently?"

Her mom was quiet for a long time before she answered sheepishly, "Nothing. He just...disappeared like TK. Of all the people in the world, I didn't think he would ever just leave - abandon us for no reason. He doesn't answer his phone or his emails...you don't think he hates me do you?"

"He's not that kind of guy. Matt's worried about his brother too. He says he's going to quit the band after this tour and go looking," the designer said nervously, "It bothers me. I checked in with the others and they're all still okay."

Rika raised an eyebrow. Dad had walked out on them. She thought her mom knew that. So why was her mom refusing to accept that? He wasn't coming back. Sign the divorce papers and move on. She shook her head at those thoughts, though. As much as she didn't get along with her mom, the idea of her dad walking out on them was just as upsetting to her. Why did he leave? Why wasn't he coming back!?

She was so angry, she ran back into her room and slammed the door shut behind her. Her mom and the designer definitely heard her, but she didn't care. She just wanted to be alone now. In a fit of rage, she kicked over the desk in her room and dropped down onto her bed - screaming into the pillow to vent. It didn't help.

Then she heard a knock at the door, "Ruki? Honey? Are you home?"

It was her grandmother. Rika lay there, face down into the pillow without answering. Of all the people in her family, her grandmother was probably the only one she liked - if only because she was the most patient and understanding of her family. Her grandfather on her mom's side lived outside the city and refused to ever visit, while her grandmother on that side passed away before she born. It was an event her mom didn't talk about. As for her grandfather on her dad's side, he'd passed away not that long ago from heart failure.

On top of being reminded of her family troubles, she also had to deal with the fact that the loser who'd never had his digimon right before had suddenly made his partner digimon digivolve. How!? The goggle head had fought more than that guy! What was she doing wrong? It had to be Renamon's fault. She'd lied to her. Lied about how strong she really was. She was the best there was when it came to this. That's why they called her the Digimon Queen!

As red hot as this made her, she also noticed a deathly chill in the air. She sat up to get under her blanket and realized she wasn't in her room. She wasn't even in her house. Wherever she was, it was full of ice and cold. And it ran down her spine, making her shiver not just with cold but dread. There was something else here with her in the cold and the dark.

Maybe that fear was the reason she failed to notice two long white arms reaching for her from behind until they'd wrapped themselves around her. She tried to let out a yelp, but one hand moved to cover her mouth.

"It's okay tamer. I'm not going to hurt you."

* * *

Takato and Juri made their way back down the street. It was night out now and they both should've been home a long time ago. But Takato didn't seem to be in any particular rush to get there. He'd been quiet since the park and hadn't said a word since. She was sure there was something else he wasn't saying - and it probably had to do with all that weird stuff he said. Or maybe it had to do with that thing he said about liking her. Well, he didn't say like. He said protect. But boys could never say they liked a girl. What else could protect mean?

And she was still trying to process that. Boys were gross. Well, maybe Takato wasn't all bad. He seemed nice, even though he was weird sometimes. What would her friends think? They definitely had something to say about all the time she'd run off with Takato. Oh no! Did they notice? That wasn't good. She was sure they were going to give her a hard time about. Nah, they couldn't. They weren't boys - only boys were mean to each other. Right?

She snapped to her senses when she heard the familiar beeping of Takato's digivice. He seemed alarmed at first, jumping in terror at the sound before pulling his digivice out of his shirt and holding it in front of him like a locket, "Oh, not now. No, not now, I'm busy!"

"What's going on?" she asked, even though she could see the screen as plain as day and the arrow that was on it. Takato tapped the digivice's screen and began talking to himself, "It looks like there's another digimon around here. And it's...moving. Not good. Shoot, okay, I won't be able to get you home. I need to go back and get Guilmon."

"Then I'll come too," Juri volunteered, only to be cut off with a sharp, "NO!"

Takato seemed to pause - as if he realized he'd just snapped at her and his tone shifted to become more apologetic, "I'm...I didn't mean to snap, Juri. I'll...look, let's hurry and get you home so you'll be safe. Then, I'll go back and-"

"NO!" she protested just as quickly, before going red in the face as she realized she'd just raised her voice for no reason. She lifted up her sock puppet again, "If Takato is going to go somewhere, then Juri will come too to make sure he doesn't get himself hurt."

She looked up briefly, noting the confused look on his face and he nodded, "Okay. But stay behind me and Guilmon. Let's hurry back!"

* * *

Henry managed to get back home just before his curfew was up. Which was good news for him since he didn't want another lecture about punctuality or responsibility or anything else like that. He'd been thinking on what Rika had said the other day in the alley and wasn't sure what to make of it. He didn't know how he'd never noticed but there were inconsistencies. Maybe the whole thing was made up? That had to be true. But that didn't explain the digimon, the digivices, or…the whole thing was making his head hurt.

He'd managed to take two steps into the apartment when his digivice started beeping like crazy. He shuffled through his pockets to try and shut it up before anyone noticed, but it was too late. His mom poked her head out of the living room, "Jiangliang? Are you home?"

"Yes mom," he answered quickly, trying to come up with an excuse for why he was heading back out into the hallway, "I just…gotta get some air."

He needed to get some air? He just got home! That was such a lame excuse. Once he was back outside, he started pressing every button on the device to make the beeps go away. Nothing. Realizing it wasn't going to stop, he looked at the screen to examine the cause of his bad luck. The radar was back and pointing in the direction of another digimon - IceDevimon. He cursed his luck.

He wanted to leave it alone but…he couldn't choose to ignore it either. People could get hurt. They would get hurt. And Takato was definitely on his way back to get Guilmon. He groaned at the choice before him. It was obvious which one was the correct one he'd have to take. Without another word, he raced back to his partner. Hopefully, he'd be able to help in time.

* * *

Yamaki watched the field agents return with another captured wild one in a containment cage. Izumi had decided to join him so that he could use his past experience to identify the creature, not that Yamaki needed it. All he was concerned with was testing the Juggernaut program and getting it ready to fire - once that was done, all of this would be over.

The field agents began unloading the cargo and they got their first glimpse of the target - a massive hulking minotaur with what looked like a gun for an arm. Thankfully, the gun was damaged and unable to fire. It seemed like the report were right. When this one emerged, it didn't do it properly and appeared partially in a wall - who knew what kind of risk that put the public at. This time it was a building, but next time it could be halfway in a gas tanker, a plane engine, or a human being. And that was completely unacceptable as far as Yamaki was concerned.

He looked over at Izumi, waiting for him to identify it. The computer expert was still shaken from the initial test fire of the weapon though. He made a mental note to make sure he saw a counselor and one of the on-site psychiatrists before sending him back to work. The last thing he needed was his top expert committing suicide or 'growing a conscience' and sabotaging the program.

Finally, Izumi found his nerve to identify the beast, "It's a Minotarumon - a champion level, virus type."

"In Japanese," Yamaki reminded Izumi, not really in the mood to deal with any more of his nonsense jargon. Izumi took a moment to collect himself, "It's attributes make it closely related to the spider your team acquired last time."

"But its a bull."

"Digimon don't operate on the same logic as our world. It looks like a bull, but has more in common with the spider."

"I see. Well, that just means we can use it for study. There's no need to test the Juggernaut again," Yamaki noted, gesturing at the field team to get it in discretely before anyone noticed.

POP! POP!

Two soft gunshots rang out from nowhere - one striking the monster square between the eyes and the other striking it in the shoulder. The field operatives stepped away from the cage - some scattering for cover while others drew assault rifles and traced the direction of the shots. Yamaki instinctively pushed Izumi to the ground and drew a pistol from inside his jacket. The shots came from just outside the facility garage, where he noted someone on an old motorcycle taking off at high speed. At this distance, his pistol couldn't get an accurate shot.

One of the field agent tried hitting the rider, but wasn't able to line up a shot quick enough before they disappeared around a corner.

Yamaki cursed. It was Burnt Leaf again. It had to be. They were aware of what they were doing and he couldn't have that. Not on his watch. But there was little he could beyond try to be more careful. One of the field operatives approached, "Sir, should we go after them?"

"No," Yamaki shook his head quietly, "If they wanted to kill us, they could've. This wasn't an attack, it was a message."

A message to stop what they were doing. But Burnt Leaf was just as unable to handle the situation as they were. If Burnt Leaf could handle the situation, they would've stopped more wild ones from crossing over already. No, this was about the fact that they were no longer the sole protectors of Japan. And Yamaki was going to send a message back. Once the Juggernaut was online, there'd be no more need for Burnt Leaf. He looked down at Izumi, who lay on the ground with his arms over his head. The man flinched when he tapped his shoulder, "Are you alright, Izumi?"

"Ye…yes," he answered, pushing himself off the ground, "I…I think I'm going to go back to my office and…clear my head."

Yamaki sighed. It seemed that the message had gotten through to Izumi and shook him to his core. That wasn't good news. It looked like the juggernaut program was going to face further delays. But there was one other thing bothering him about all this. The Juggernaut was the only weapon they had that could kill these digimon. Burnt Leaf did it with a gun. So what kind of gun was it that it could kill one of these things with one hit? It wasn't the head shot, otherwise all the chest shots from their guns would've done it. He tried to stay calm as he realized he was in over his head.

* * *

Renamon leapt through the trees of the park and settled herself in, sitting down atop it and taking a moment to think about what she'd do now that she didn't have a partner. It was true, Rika had given her everything she needed to win. But she barely won. She'd only won one encounter thus far and it was against a Goblimon - hardly a serious threat. And then there were the words of Impmon - a warning that she shouldn't trust humans. But Rika wasn't any ordinary human."

"Hey there, toots."

Speak of the devil, Renamon thought to herself quietly. She turned her head towards another branch and saw the imp digimon with folded arms staring down at her, "You ain't half bad, y'know? In all your fights, I mean. It's just a shame that the human you's stuck with ain't much help."

"Rika and I decided to go our separate ways," Renamon said quietly. The little digimon nodded in approval, "And good riddance, too. You'll be just like me - on your own and doin' just fine. Humans, who needs 'em right?"

Renamon was inclined to agree with that last point, but not with the first one. She had no intention of scraping out a meager living in the human world, living in the parks and eating whatever Impmon was eating to get by. She intended to find a way back to their world - she'd done fine on her own there before. There was one thing that stuck out to her though, "Why do _you_ hate humans so much?"

"I don't hate humans," Impmon defended himself, "It's more like I don't think we need 'em. They're a pain and all they do is hold ya back from what ya want to do."

She nodded along quietly as they went on, "Whenever anything goes wrong, instead of tryin' ta figure out what happened, they just start blamin' each other. Sometimes they blame you. And don' even get me started on they moods. Happy one second, mad as hell the next. And fo' no good reason either. It's like they's always in a mood y'know? Plus, sometimes they just start fightin' over ya. Ya know what I mean?"

That gave Renamon pause and she looked at the digimon curiously, "What do you mean _they_ fight over you?"

Impmon clicked his tongue angrily, "Never you mind that. I smell some humans comin' this way now."

As much as Renamon wanted to know what he meant, it was hard to ignore the smell coming their way and she turned her attention downward to see the boy called Takato, that girl with the sock puppet, Guilmon, Henry, and Terriermon running by. It was hard to make out but Takato was saying something about the digimon being in that direction. Her ears perked up at that - a chance to prove she would be okay on her own without Rika. And whatever they were running towards must be strong if the boy was willing to forego the disguise of the box.

Yes, this was her chance. She stood herself up and leapt into the darkness after them. Distantly, she heard Impmon call behind her, "What're you doing? Don't run afta' the humans. Aw geez…dames. What can ya do, right?"

* * *

Juri followed after Guilmon and Takato as he followed the path laid out for them by his digivice. They ran into Henry back at the park too, seemingly annoyed about having to deal with another digimon. Although it was night, they were getting a lot of looks from people passing by. With each turned head, Takato assured everyone that they were testing a rubber costume and no to worry about it. After running for a while, he stopped and stated, "Okay, the digivice says they should be…in there."

He pointed inside of an electronics shop, whose customers had stopped what they were doing to stare outside at Guilmon as he sniffed the glass. The little digimon remarked, "What's that? It looks fun!"

"I had this problem before," Takato answered sheepishly, craning his neck to look up at the many stories of the building, "I was chasing a cat but because the digivice can't tell us how high or low it was, I ended up looking for it on the wrong floor. Ended up having to jump out a window to get it."

Juri raised an eyebrow at what he said, certain that it was another of the weird things he'd say sometimes without reason. Then Henry pointed up, "Look up there. I don't know what that is but I bet that's what we're looking for."

Juri craned her neck up and gasped when she noticed the top floor of the building was sealed in a fine layer of ice. In the beginning of fall. It wasn't exactly cold out, but it wasn't hot either. There was no way that ice could've been there. Juri suggested, "Maybe they just left the air conditioning on too high?"

"It could be a Frigimon or a Mujyamon. Those guys love the cold," Takato answered absentmindedly, either ignoring or not hearing what she said. He went around the side of the building and called, "This way guys, I think I found a side door."

Sure enough, there was a side door with a sign marked 'Tenants Only'. Through a small window, they could make out the stairs that made their way up to a higher level. Without even trying, Takato patted Guilmon and the digimon understood to break the lock with his claws. Juri gasped as the door swung open and Takato took the first step inside, "What're you doing? We don't live here! That's breaking and entering."

Takato paused as he considered her concerns and tried to explain, "Technically, Guilmon broke the lock. I'm just entering."

"He's not wrong," Terriermon remarked.

"But this is," Juri gestured at what they were doing, trying to dissuade him from going further. She looked at Henry and was pleased to see he agreed, "She's right. We could get arrested."

A frown drew itself on Takato's face, as if he was disappointed with their responses, "The top floor of this building is frozen over and the digivice says there's a digimon around here, meanwhile you're worried about a sign. We need to go up there and make sure no one is hurt. We might get in trouble for ignoring the sign, but we won't get in trouble for helping anyone out. It's a sign, not my mom or Miss Asaji."

"You really are a little trouble maker," Juri said to him, but he didn't seem to notice, "I prefer to call myself a problem solver. Come on!"

"Is he always like this?" Henry asked her. Terriermon added, "He just kinda leaves and does his own thing. I respect that."

"I don't," Henry frowned.

Against her better judgment, she followed them up the stairs until they were at the very top and down a long hallway. Immediately, the temperature seemed to drop below freezing and their breath could be seen in the air. Voices echoed from the end of the hall, reverberating off the ice and becoming a garbled mess. But that didn't stop them from reaching the end and coming across the only door that was completely frozen over. And the voices were louder from the other side.

* * *

Rika ran free of the arms as soon as they let her go - the long, spindly fingers retreating back to an extra large set of claws and arms that dragged along the ground. And at the end of the arms was a tall, pale man in white leather costume that included chains and spikes along his body. Right away, Rika knew what she was looking at. The devil digimon IceDevimon. She minded her distance while he added in a comforting voice, "It's okay tamer, I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to help you."

"How is kidnapping me from my room helping?" Rika demanded angrily, brushing her arms together as the cold started nipping at her. The devil digimon frowned, "I was there the day you chose your partner - I begged and pleaded to be chosen. Yet you chose that damnable Renamon. But I can see that she's no longer with you. Either it didn't work out, or she wasn't good enough. Either way, it confirms what I already knew. She was never meant to be your partner. I was. We would work so well together if you would just choose to work with me."

"Back off creep," Rika warned taking a step away from the digimon. A hand placed itself on her shoulder from behind, and she spun around in a panic to see IceDevimon standing behind her. She looked back at where the digimon had been just a second before and saw he was gone. There was only one - that was a relief. The digimon added, "I can sense much fear in you. So much anguish, anger, frustration. Those are the source of my energy - the source of my strength. Don't you understand, Rika? I was born to be your partner. I'm far stronger than Renamon ever was. Just look!"

He gestured above and Rika gasped as she saw a ceiling full of digimon frozen in ice above, on display like trophies. IceDevimon went on, "Just by being around you, I can feel myself already becoming so much stronger than what I was. Join me! Let's work together to become the strongest there ever was."

"Not interested," Rika replied through chattering teeth. It was so cold, she noticed her breath would turn to fog as quickly as it left her. If this guy was so cold that being around her made it this freezing, then she wasn't interested in it. All she wanted was to go home, "Now, let me go."

IceDevimon was impossible to read and his mood barely seemed to change, as if he'd chosen to ignore what she'd just said, "Think on it Rika. Together we could become the strongest in both this world and the Digital World. You could have anything you could wish for and I…I will be the herald to your greatness!"

"Is this supposed to be about me, you or us? Because it's kinda hard to tell with that speech you're giving," Rika answered angrily, annoyed that she still wasn't being shown the exit. She didn't get it - what exactly did this guy think would happen if he kept on talking? Then she realized she might actually say yes out of boredom if he didn't stop talking. It didn't help that he started talking right away, "We are meant to be together, tamer. Surely you understand this?"

"Look buddy, you picked a really bad day to come knocking at my door and you're obviously too dumb to take the hint. So let me spell this out for you," she stated matter of factly, marching right up to him and pointing a finger at his face, "I-A-M-N-O-T-I-N-T-E-R-E-S-T-E-D. I am not interested. Let me go home."

IceDevimon remained unreadable, gazing down at her with his cold red eyes. She flinched under his unbreaking stare that seemed to be calculating what he would do next. When she took a step back in alarm, IceDevimon's eyes widened and he took her by the arm, "I didn't want to do this. But how else can I make you see?"

"Let me go!" Rika shrieked, scared of whatever IceDevimon was planning. She pulled as hard as should could to break his grip that seemed to get tighter and tighter on her. IceDevimon's grip became cold and icy, and she could feel her skin starting to burn under it. That was when she heard a loud boom - an explosion from a wall of ice that blew apart a small opening. For a moment, she was relieved to think that Renamon was coming to save her.

It didn't last when she saw both Guilmon and Terriermon come running in, followed by Takato, Juri, and that Henry kid. She groaned in frustration as they showed up - conflicted between relief to see her rescue and annoyance that these kids seemed determined to follow her around. IceDevimon released her, and she used that chance to put distance between herself and the digimon. For his part, IceDevimon growled, "Intruders, leave this place! You're not welcome here! Wait, digimon? With partners? But I thought only Tamer...no, you're digidestined! Yes that must be it!"

"Nothing of the sort," Takato shouted back at him, "Rika, are you okay?"

"Stop playing the hero, goggle head," Rika grunted, stamping her foot, "I don't need rescuing!"

Takato threw up his hands in defense, "I never said you did, but you could've fooled me - to be honest, we weren't expecting you to be up here. Where's Renamon?"

"Forget about her. Let's get out of here!" Rika grunted, trying to hide the fact that she was thinking the same thing. There wasn't any time to dwell on that, though. She ran as fast as she could to rejoin their side - not because she wanted saving. It was just the safest place at the moment. Then again, IceDevimon had gotten to her in her room. Who knew where else and how else he could get to her.

"Tamer! Please don't go!" IceDevimon grunted behind her, just as his icy hands shot out of the floor to grab at her. She stopped in her tracks, terrified of being grabbed again when Guilmon and Terriermon leapt on him, "Pyrosphere!"

"Bunny Blast!"

The fire ball and green energy blast hit their marks, and the arms retreated back into the ground. She took off again, slipping on the ice and sliding to a stop beside Juri. The girl offered her hand to help her up but Rika slapped it aside. She didn't need their help.

"Hey, Terriermon - why is it called Bunny Blast? Aren't you named after a dog?" Henry asked now of all times. Rika couldn't believe it. Why ask now? Terriermon rebuked him before he could, "Not the time, Henry."

"But-"

"Henry! We need to fight!" Terriermon spat back bitterly, "I'm not going to sit back and miss this."

Oh, right. Rika felt embarrassed that she forgot this kid didn't like to get mixed up in fights.

"Nobody fight!" Takato declared, rushing forward to meet with IceDevimon, "IceDevimon, what are you doing here and why do you have Rika?"

"I don't have to explain my reasons to you, human," IceDevimon answered angrily, rising into the air for effect to make himself more menacing. Then he advanced on them, brushing the boy aside. Takato made another attempt at diplomacy, "That doesn't mean you shouldn't. Whatever is making you do this, maybe we can help. That's why we have digivices, right? To help!"

"Enough," IceDevimon snapped at the boy, "I've found the one who can make me stronger. With her, we can save the Digital World. Out of my way!"

That question struck Rika. And from the looks of it, it got the others attention too. The gogglehead even asked, "Save the Digital World from what?"

IceDevimon was no longer interested in answering questions. He was only interested in taking Rika by any means necessary. Rika reached for her belt to retrieve a card - then she paused. Renamon wasn't here. She may as well try to knock IceDevimon over with her breath for all the good it would do.

Terriermon and Guilmon charged the digimon again, and were swatted aside with ease. Rika froze as IceDevimon advanced on her, and she felt a hand pull her. Great, it was the goggle head again! At least, she thought it was until she realized it was sock puppet girl, "We should run!"

She and Rika bolted for the hole in the wall just as Terriermon and Guilmon attacked again. And were knocked aside no problem. Takato continued trying to plea with the digimon. She closed her eyes, expecting to be captured again.

"DIAMOND STORM!"

Rika's eyes shot open and she watched a rain of diamonds slam down upon IceDevimon from above. IceDevimon raised up his arms to protect himself, "Another intruder. Wait, I know you. You're-"

"Renamon!" Rika gasped as the fox dove down from a perch and kick the champion digimon across the side of the had. The fox used the momentum of her kick to push herself off the ground as she landed and leapt up into the air again. IceDevimon growled, "Why!?"

He threw a punch with his elongated arms at her, "WHY DO YOU KEEP GETTING IN MY WAY!?"

Rika was glad to see Renamon had come to save her and called out, "Renamon, are you-"

"I'm sorry, I thought we weren't talking right now," Renamon snapped at her, silencing Rika. She wasn't sure how to take that. Renamon had turned her down. She tried to reply but was unable to find the words to speak. Renamon then charged again, ready to attack. She leapt into the air and fired, "DIAMOND STO-"

"TUNDRA FREEZE!"

A beam of cold ice shot out of IceDevimon's eyes, striking Renamon in the leg and encasing it with ice. Rika panicked, "RENAMON!"

"Henry! Snap out of it! Did you forget that you have a deck?" Terriermon complained, "Don't just sit there. Use one of them!"

Henry closed his eyes, seeming to wrestle with this dilemma before extending his hand out to Rika, "Can I borrow your deck?"

"My deck?" Rika raised an eyebrow. Henry nodded, "I didn't bring mine. You don't mind right?"

At this point, she didn't care. She removed her belt with the deck holder in it and handed it to the guy, "Take it. Do whatever you want. I'm going home."

"Home?" Henry repeated, dumbstruck. Rika nodded, not wanting anything more to do with this, "I hate this. And I hate digimon."

"Rika, wait!" Henry called after her but it was too late. She didn't care about what they had to say or what they wanted to do. She wanted nothing more to do with this, just casually strolling out of this ice cave through the entrance they made. Juri tried to reach out to her, but Rika slapped her hand away. She was going home.

* * *

Terriermon asked, "What's her problem?"

"Was it something I did?"

"GUYS! Stop fighting!" Takato shouted, pulling them back into the fight with the digimon in front of them. He was pleading with Guilmon, IceDevimon, and Renamon who were locked into a deadly three way battle. IceDevimon was trying to kill them both, while Guilmon was concentrated on IceDevimon. Renamon attacked the devil too, but kicked Guilmon away anytime he got too close. This left the dinosaur no choice but to defend himself every time Renamon tried to kick her away. And Takato grew more desperate, "Guys! Stop this, please!"

"It's no use, Takato. They're just going to keep fighting no matter what," Henry observed, taking Rika's deck out of her pocket to examine it, "Here, this should help! Terriermon, get ready to fly!"

"Huh?"

Henry produced a card and was about to begin swiping it, only to stop. They had to help. They had to fight. But Henry couldn't bring himself to do it. He just...couldn't risk Terriermon getting hurt. He dropped the card and apologized, "I'm sorry."

"You can't quit on me now, Henry!" Terriermon complained to his partner, but it didn't matter. Henry couldn't bring himself to fight. Just as he was about to put the deck away, Takato ran up to him, "Can I borrow that if you're not going to use it?"

Henry didn't hesitate to hand the deck over. He shuffled through it quickly, then turned back to the fighting quickly, "I'm sorry it had to be this way. Digimodify! Angemon's wings Activate!"

A flash of light burst from Takato's digivice and the digimon sprouted six angelic wings on his back. He took off into the air, just as Takato swiped another card, "Speed Boost! Activate!"

With that second swipe, Guilmon was zooming through the air - circling IceDevimon and pelting him with fireballs. The ice digimon went on the defensive, spreading his wings and trying to fly away from the fireballs only to bump into Renamon. Even though her leg was frozen, she was still able to leap into the air and use her frozen leg to club the digimon in the face. It knocked him over and shattered the ice into a thousand tiny pieces that splintered all along his body. He growled, "What are you-"

"Diamond storm!" Renamon shouted, leaping into the air and peppering the digimon with ice. Perhaps it was the continuous attacks that did him in, or the fact that he was caught off guard. Either way, this last blast was all it took to finally end the ice digimon once and for all. He screamed in a panic before bursting into a cloud of data. As he did, Renamon rose up and began absorbing his data. Henry rubbed his eyes to make sure he saw that right. She'd absorbed him. IceDevimon was gone and Renamon was the reason.

He asked, "What was that?"

"The way of the Digital World. The weak die. The strong live," she answered. She would've sounded cool if she wasn't gasping for breath from fatigue. She quickly composed herself and made her way for the exit. After what she did, Henry didn't want to be in her way. But that didn't stop Takato, "You didn't have to do that!"

"Your idealism is nice but it's only that. If you don't change your attitudes to this, you'll never get stronger," she answered before continuing on. She stopped again just short of the door, "I guess I should thank you. This only confirmed what I feared - Rika held me back. I'm better on my own."

And then she disappeared, unwilling to hear Takato remark, "But...you only won because we were all together."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Rika has given up on being a Tamer! Will she rethink her decision? Are Rika and Renamon going to work together again? What danger is consuming the Digital World? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out next week on Friday March 15th at 8 PM CST. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section and I'll try to respond as soon as I'm able. And hey, why not follow or favorite the story to keep up with all the latest updates? That's all I have for now! I'll see you guys in the next installment! Now let's take a look at previews for the next chapter!

Guilmon dove in front of it just before it crossed the goal, catching it in his mouth and promptly spitting it out towards the goal, "Blegh, that tastes like dirt."

"It's been rolling on the ground," Terriermon laughed, "Guilmon ate dirt!"

"Guilmon! You're not supposed to eat the ball silly," Calumon giggled excitedly, pointing out the goal he'd just scored, "That's one point for us by the way which means you have to play the next round on one leg!"

"I do?" Guilmon tilted his head in confusion. Terriermon felt like today was going to be an interesting day.


	9. Growlmon Roars Into Action

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 9: Growlmon Roars Into Action**

Even though they'd defeated their first rogue digimon together, the air between them was dejected and quiet. It should've been a happy moment, but all they could think about was the exchange between Rika and Renamon. Takato was especially bothered, seeming contemplative instead of talkative like he usually was. Terriermon was the only one talking after that exchange, and it was to question Henry, "Why didn't you swipe the card Henry? It would've helped me out back there!"

"I...couldn't," he apologized, "I just...couldn't bring myself to do it."

That answer was hardly satisfying to Terriermon, who grunted his response disapprovingly, "Sorry wasn't going to stop IceDevimon from going after Rika - even if she was being mean. Unless you were trying to get her killed. Please tell me that wasn't the plan."

"No, of course not! I just didn't want to see you get hurt. Besides...we should probably hang on to this," Henry held up Rika's card pouch and belt - only for Takato to snatch it out of his hand. It was the first thing he'd done that was in character for him since the battle, aside from the fact that he'd been massaging the side of his head like he had a headache, "We should give this back to her."

"Why? She said she didn't want them any more," Terriermon pointed out. Takato stuffed the belt and the deck into his pocket, "Never trust anyone's decisions if they're made in a fit of anger - they may not mean it and they'll probably regret it later."

He stopped suddenly, taking the time to carefully massage both sides of his head. Juri raised up her sock puppet, "Is Takato alright?"

"Just a headache," he replied, although Guilmon sniffed him and provided his own opinion, "It doesn't smell like a headache to me. It smells funny."

"Gee, thanks," Takato groaned, leading the way again back to the park shed. Once the digimon were safely hidden away, Takato told them, "We're out of school tomorrow so we'll come back. Oh, and I have to feed the school animals tomorrow so you guys will get to see some new things. Just promise you won't eat the bunnies, Guilmon."

"What's a bunnies?" Guilmon asked innocently enough. Neither Henry nor Juri could deny how amusing it was to see Takato mime a rabbit with his hands on his head for ears, "They're these cute little animals with big ears that bounce around all over the place. They're really cute."

"Is Terriermon a bunnies?" Guilmon asked, turning to sniff the little digimon curiously and somehow oblivious to the little digimon's protests, "Hey! Stop, that tickles!"

Takato sighed, "No, Terriermon's not a bunny. For starters, he probably eats more than a whole pack of them. Although he does kinda look like one. Y'know, I never thought about it but a terrier is a dog and you look more like a bunny."

It was hard to miss the look of existential crisis on Terriermon's face as he looked down at his own hands. Juri felt a little sorry for him because of it until his ears perked up, "Moumantai!"

Takato laughed, "Anyway, we'll see you guys tomorrow. If no more digimon show up that is."

"Night night," Guilmon answered with a tired yawn before crawling over to his hole to take a nap. Terriermon joined the dino digimon and flopped atop his large body, "Nap time sounds good."

All three kids smiled at the sleeping digimon before heading home.

* * *

Rika was plagued by horrible nightmare's that night, tossing and turning in her sleep as terrible images came to mind. Images of more digimon coming to visit her, and not all of them wanting to be her partner. Some wanted revenge, enraged that they had been passed over so that Renamon could be chosen for a partner instead. As the digimon attacked her, she was visited by Renamon - but the fox refused to do anything to help her. Instead, she merely watched as Rika was eventually over run by the digimon. They pushed her to the ground, each one taking a separate limb before they started pulling. Harder and harder until she could feel her bones popping out of their sockets - until her legs and arms were ripped apart.

She jumped awake in a cold sweat, looking around her empty room to make sure there was no one else present. It was just her, alone in the dark bedroom. But she'd thought that before, and it didn't stop IceDevimon from reaching through the darkness to take her away. How long until it happened again? What would she do without her partner to back her up?

She sighed and tried to push it out of her mind - lying back down and grabbing her CD players. Maybe some music would help her calm down. She couldn't tell which CD was inside because of the dark, but she was able to feel her way to getting her headphones on and pressing play. The song started and she could feel herself start to relax,

" _Wanna be the biggest dreamer,_

 _I'll keep running straight on through!_

 _Past yesterday, beyond today,_

 _tomorrow dreams come true!_

 _I dunno,_

 _can't pretend I'm all that cool._

 _Never was the best at anythin' in school._

 _Life is slow and questions keep pilin',_

 _on and on and on_

 _Gotta know…_

 _where do I belong?_

 _Tried to figure out it all,_

 _then I slipped and tripped to fall!_

 _I know I heard laughter!_

She didn't remember owning this CD, but the song was helping her forget the nightmare. Whether it was because she was confused by the song or annoyed by it, she didn't care. Her eyes felt heavy.

* * *

Guilmon and Terriermon lay sleeping in their shed, and would've slept for several hours more if they hadn't been awoken by someone whipping the lock door open. Both digimon were startled awake as little Calumon hurried in with his big eyes and large ears, "Hey guys! Hey guys! Why are you sleeping? Don't you know it's time to play?"

Both sleepy digimon looked at Calumon groggily, however Terriermon was the first one to grasp what'd happened, "Calumon? What are you doing here this early?"

"It's time to play! It's time to play! It's time to play!" the little digimon repeated in a little sing song tone. Terriermon answered his joy with a tired yawn before crawling back into his bed, "I'm sure it is. I'm going back to bed."

"I want to play," Guilmon cheered, rising out of his hole energetically, "What are we playing?"

"I saw a bunch of humans at this one place playing a fun game with a ball and lines!" the little digimon said excitedly, "Come and play! Come and play! Come and play!"

"Okay!" Guilmon said. Terriermon groaned, too awake to go back to sleep, "Fine, let's play this dumb game. Where are we going, anyway?"

"It's this way!" Calumon said, hopping out of the shed as fast as his little legs would carry him. Both Guilmon and Calumon followed the little digimon out into the dark forest, down the empty streets, and all the way to an empty building. One Terriermon recognized right away, "I know this place! It's a school! Henry comes here all the time!"

"I know this place too! I came here looking for Takatomon that one time. It still smells funny," Guilmon added enthusiastically. They made their way towards the school gate to find that it was locked shut. The young dinosaur's heart sank at the sight of it, "How do we get it open?"

Calumon produced an answer by picking a stone off the ground, "With a little gentle persuasion! Take this!"

For such a small digimon, he displayed an awfully dangerous amount of strength by smashing the rock as hard as he could against the lock until it shattered off the gate. Both Guilmon and Terriermon had to applaud the little digimon for that. Both digimon were alarmed by how strong the little guy was - and were just as dumbstruck as he swung the gate open for them. Neither would've guessed he had it in him, "See, just a little friendly persuasion! This way! I know where they keep the balls and white stuff!"

"Wait, what?" Terriermon sputtered out, following along just behind Guilmon. The little dinosaur was just as clueless and asked, "What are those? Can we eat them?"

"I mean…some people do," Terriermon replied, not sure if his mind was in the gutter or if Calumon was taking him where he thought they were going. Calumon ran along happily, leading them along the grounds and past the soccer field which had been cleared for the afternoon. To their amazement, he ended up leading them to a shed in the far corner of the field. Like the gate, it was also locked shut but all it took was some more of Calumon's gentle persuasion to break the lock off that.

The little digimon disappeared inside the mess of gardening tools, returning with what looked like a wheel barrow with holes full of white powder and a soccer ball on his head. He dropped the ball and said, "First we got to spread this white stuff all over the ground - it's so the players can tell if they're out of bounds and where the sides are and-"

"Oh, I know this," Terriermon said, "I watched it from the classroom."

"Well we're going to do it a little different," Calumon said excitedly, running ahead of both digimon. Guilmon hung on to every word that Calumon said, but Terriermon couldn't help but notice the discrepancies. He also found it hard to miss the rules Calumon made up, "So if you cross this line, you have to spend the rest of the game hopping on one leg. And if you shoot past this line, you can only hit the ball with your head for the rest of this game. And if you cross this line, a mean old digimon shows up and tries to attack you! And you have to hop inside this line-"

On and on it went. Terriermon considered pointing out that those weren't the rules, but also decided that he didn't want to be like his partner when it came to this type of thing. He smiled and decided to run with it, especially when Calumon mentioned the rule about having to walk on your hands if the game went to double over time - if that were possible. At least he'd have the advantage if he were Gargomon. Once the lines were set up, Terriermon kicked the ball into the middle and invited Terriermon to his side, "Since we're so small, we should be on the same team and Guilmon can be on the others team, because he's so big."

"So when do we eat the ball?" Guilmon asked. Calumon tilted his head, "You don't eat the ball silly!"

Guilmon appeared disappointed but he quickly forgot as Calumon kicked the ball first. Terriermon sighed and went for it - jumping in front of the ball and kicking it toward the goal. Guilmon dove in front of it just before it crossed the goal, catching it in his mouth and promptly spitting it out towards the goal, "Blegh, that tastes like dirt."

"It's been rolling on the ground," Terriermon laughed, "Guilmon ate dirt!"

"Guilmon! You're not supposed to eat the ball silly," Calumon giggled excitedly, pointing out the goal he'd just scored, "That's one point for us by the way which means you have to play the next round on one leg!"

"I do?" Guilmon tilted his head in confusion. Terriermon felt like today was going to be an interesting day.

* * *

The next morning, Henry made his way to the shed - glad to finally get away from his family for a little while. His dad really tore into him for his recent behavior - stealing dolls from girls and coming home late, only to leave again. His mom made the case that he was just going through a phase but he was pretty sure his dad was just waiting to give him the birds and bees talk. The thought of his dad trying to explain that stuff any better than the health ed teacher made him shiver.

As he turned into the park, he bumped into a frantic Takato with Juri just a few steps behind him. Takato fell over backwards and massaged his butt, "Ow, ow, ow."

"What's the rush?" Henry asked him. Takato looked up, face in a full panic as he explained, "It's Guilmon and Terriermon! They're gone! I don't know where either of them are! The gate was open and we're following their tracks!"

Henry looked down and noticed a set of dirty foot prints in the shape of claws on the ground - undoubtedly from Guilmon. He sighed, annoyed that two nights in was all it took to get Terriermon to wander off, "Come on, Terriermon."

"We need to get after them before they get into trouble!" Takato exclaimed, scrambling back on to his feet and following the tracks. Henry sighed and looked at Juri, "He's awfully excitable in the morning."

"You should see him try to sneak into class," she answered, "He's always caught but that doesn't stop him from arguing with the teacher anyway."

"I don't doubt it," Henry pocketed his hands and followed after Takato. He was just as worried too, but he doubt they would've let themselves be caught so easily. At least, that's what he wanted to believe and Terriermon seemed all to eager to prove him wrong. They followed the tracks all the way back to the school, where the gate had been broken into and the shed where gym supplies were was thrown wide open. The cherry on top of the vandalism to their school was the mess of scribbled chalk on the field that zigged zagged all over the place. And Guilmon slept on his back in the middle of the field, with Terriermon on his side and Calumon on his belly.

Takato breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh good, they're alright."

"Guilmon certainly takes after you," Henry chortled, patting the boy's back, "I guess the digimon doesn't fall too far from the tamer, huh?"

"I didn't tell him to do this!" Takato reasoned. He chastised him, "No, but you did tell him to break a lock into that apartment. I betcha he got the wrong idea."

"Whatever," Takato groaned, running up to their sleeping partners to shake them awake, "Wakey wakey guys! Come on, get up!"

All three digimon stirred slowly, with Guilmon sitting up before Calumon was ready so that the little digimon rolled off his side. The dinosaur yawned, "Oh, hi Takatomon. Do you have bread? I'm really hungry."

"You shouldn't have snuck out of the shed like that," Takato chastised the dinosaur with a warning finger like he was telling off a younger sibling, "You could've gotten into serious trouble."

"I'm sorry Takatomon," Guilmon made something like a frown and sat himself up. Then he motioned for the digimon to follow, "Come on, we have to feed the school animals. Then you can have your breakfast."

Takato helped his partner up, and Terriermon slowly walked his way over to Henry, "Hey Henry."

Henry had to stifle a laugh when he saw his partner rubbed his tired eyes and took one good look around the soccer field. There was no sense to any of it - and the soccerball appeared mangled. He had a good guess about what happened but thought he should get his partner's take on it anyway, "So what did you guys do all night?"

"Moumantai," Terriermon perked up suddenly, his ears flopping out as large as they could. Henry sighed, unsure of what else he'd been expecting from his partner. The little digimon then followed after Takato and Guilmon, "Where are we going anyway?"

"Oh, the animal pen is in the back of the school by the kitchen," Henry explained to his partner, who cracked a yawn and looked at Juri, "Oh, hello. What're you doing here?"

Juri opened her mouth but didn't say anything. Henry wasn't sure whether she was shy or uncomfortable talking to Terriermon yet so he tapped his partner on the head, "Be nice, Terriermon. Come on, let's go see the bunnies."

"Bunnies! I like bunnies!" Calumon appeared excitedly, waddling up along side them cheerfully, "What's a bunny!?"

Perhaps she'd finally found her nerve because Juri picked the little digimon up and smiled, "Come on, let's go see!"

Calumon didn't see it that way and panicked, "AH! THE HUMANS GOING TO EAT ME!"

"I'm not going to eat you," Juri said in her defense, patting the little digimon on the head to try and calm him down. Calumon didn't appear to buy it and leapt out of her arms, sprinting off as fast as his little legs could carry him towards the back of the school. Which ended up being surprisingly fast for how small he was. Oddly enough, he ran straight towards Takato and Guilmon at the pen in the back of the school.

Guilmon was busy sniffing at the different animals in their cages - bunnies, ducks, chickens, geese, and hamsters. Takato was busy going in and out of the different pens, carrying buckets in each arm that he busily filled with vegetables, seeds, and other food he pulled out of feed bags for the different animals. Immediately, Calumon forgot he was running scared from Juri and went to marvel at the bunnies. Terriermon looked at Henry expectantly, as if he had to ask for permission and Henry said, "We both know you're going to run off anyway. Go ahead buddy."

"Thanks Henry," Terriermon ran ahead to join the two digimon. Calumon awed at the little creature, "So these are the bunnies? They're so cute! Aw! Hey! That tickles!"

He bounced away as one of the bunnies came to smell him. The adorableness of the sight was ruined by as Guilmon asking, "Are they food?"

Henry, Juri, and Takato all stopped - looking between each other because none of them wanted to answer that question. If anything, it would've been Takato who answered the question absent mindedly, but he seemed to have enough sense to realize telling his partner to eat the school animals would've been a bad idea. Instead, he tried to change the subject, "So what were you guys doing here?"

Guilmon looked up, "We were playing soccer! Calumon came up with a some rules to make the game more fun and we played until the sun came up. Then we took a nap, and you woke us up."

"So you only slept for an hour," Takato said, taking the empty buckets to fill them with water. As he went about his weekend chores, he suggested, "Hey, how about we play a round or two after you guys have something to eat?"

"Will we get to eat bread?" Guilmon asked excitedly. Takato shrugged, "Oh definitely, there's got to be something in the kitchen we can scavenge for you guys."

"From the school?" Terriermon asked wearily, looking at Juri and Henry for some sort of rescue from having to eat the food. It wasn't hard to see why, since they weren't fans of the food either. Calumon rubbed his little belly and asked, "Do they have candy? I love candy! It's the best."

"Is that the best thing for them to eat? They could get sick and throw it all up," Juri pointed out for Terriermon, unsure of what that would do to the digimon. Takato thumbed over at Guilmon, "I've watched him eat so much that he puked it back up, only to eat it again. I think Guilmon can handle it."

"The more time passes, the more I realize you only treat him like a dog because he basically is a dog," Henry frowned, waiting for Takato to finish filling the water bowls for the different animals, "Besides, I'm Terriermon and Calumon aren't up for just anything."

"Yeah, you're right," Takato replied. Once he was done filling the water bowls, he clapped his hands together to get as much dust off as he could before washing it at the water faucet. Then it was off to the kitchen, "Don't worry, I'm not going to let them eat the leftover tuna casserole or the day old stuff. The last thing we need is for our digimon to get food poisoning with everything going on."

The kitchen was just as stocked as they thought it was, and they found several brownies hoarded in the refrigerator as well as cookies. Beside it was all the nasty food they were certain the lunch ladies had been serving for the last few years of their life. As quickly as they'd found it, their partners made it all disappear with a few quick and sickening bites that made any appetite they had disappear.

Henry felt his stomach churn at the way Guilmon ate, surprised that either Juri or Takato were able to handle it. Takato patted Guilmon's head as he took each bite while Juri awed at it. Henry tried not to be sickened but it was hard, especially when he'd tasted some of that food himself and knew it wasn't the best thing in the world. As they ate, he noticed Takato still had Rika's belt hanging loosely out of his pocket, along with the deck of cards that came with it. He pointed it out, "Still haven't talked to Rika, yet?"

He frowned, "I thought I should wait a day for her to cook down first. I'm pretty sure she'd punch me in the face if I went to go see her right now. Or kick. It's really hard to tell what she'll do."

"I've never seen her around the school, is she a student here?" Henry asked. Juri shook her head, "I think she goes to a middle school and she's just a year ahead of us."

Both Henry and Takato were surprised to hear her say that and looked at her in surprise. She appeared startled by their appearance and asked, "What?"

"How do you know that?" Takato asked seriously, a question Henry wanted to know the answer to as well. She explained, "I noticed her uniform when we were at her place a few days ago. It's a middle school uniform - which means she's at least a year ahead of us. That or she goes to the weirdest elementary school ever."

Takato and Henry both swapped looks, certainly for different reasons. He knew Takato and Juri had been looking for him, but he didn't know they'd been to Rika's place too. Although it would explain why she'd been acting weird. Then Takato complimented Juri, "You've got a good eye, Juri."

"Oh...thanks," she looked away anxiously, causing Henry to raise a curious eye brow. These always seemed to be around each other but they weren't siblings. Or cousins as far as he could tell. Maybe they were together? Nah - that couldn't be. Although, it would explain why his parents were so convinced he was going through a phase. But he wondered if they were both trying to keep it secret. Then again, it wasn't his place to worry about. It'd be rude to pry into their business.

Once they were done eating, Guilmon let out a sickeningly loud burp that smelled horrible and everyone rushed out of the kitchen to escape the smell. After a few minutes of coughing and gagging from Guilmon's monster of a burp, Calumon asked, "Can we play our game now?"

Henry heaved between gasps for breath, "Yeah, sure. We all need some fresh air after that."

Guilmon burped innocently enough from within the kitchen.

* * *

Yamaki scrambled for the main deck again as Riley and Tally announced the appearance of two more wild ones on their monitors. As soon as he made his way in, he demanded, "Where are they bio-emerging?"

"One in a school in Shinjuku, the other in a mall in Yamato," Tally answered, "And whatever they are, they're big!"

"Dammit," Yamaki cursed under his breath. It was a Saturday so no one was in school today. Which meant the priority was the one in the mall. He hated having to make split decisions like this, "Okay - send the QRF to Yamato. Have an agent sent to Shinjuku to monitor that one. Then have the QRF divert there after they're done in Yamato. And Tally, get some cover stories ready!"

"Yes sir," Tally replied with a groan, obviously annoyed.

"On it, sir," Riley was more on point, maintaining the professional relationship they were supposed to have. She began alarming the QRF and setting their target orders for them.

* * *

It took Calumon the longest time to explain the rules of his game to them. It was nothing short of a miracle to Juri that Guilmon and Terriermon were able to keep up. However Takato and Henry were left scratching their heads at all the nonsensical rules they were told. Rules that ranged from crossing line making a mean digimon appear to attack you or having to hop on one leg, or shooting past a certain line meant having to spend the rest of the game hitting the ball with your head. It was so bad, her head was spinning trying to keep up. Takato especially was massaging the side of his head as he tried to follow along.

"And those are the rules to this extra special fun version of my game!" Calumon finished explaining his rules in time for Juri to breathe a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness, I thought I was going to go insane trying to follow any more rules."

"I hear ya," Henry scratched his head, "So which line is the one we're not supposed to pass so we don't get attacked?"

"Come on guys, this is easy!" Calumon whined, running back over to the lines he'd just finished explaining, "First you can't cross this line or-"

"How about we play a round and you just tell us if we're breaking any rules?" Takato interrupted quickly to save them from having to sit through another terrible explanation from the little digimon. Surprisingly, the little digimon's mood seemed to improve upon the proposal, "OKAY! BOY THIS IS GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN! HOORAY! FOR THIS ROUND, WE'RE GOING TO PLAY HUMANS VERSUS DIGIMON!"

"Sounds good to me, how about you Juri?" Takato asked her. She nodded to avoid hurting Calumon's feelings, "Sure. I'm not good at sports but this game sounds...fun."

"Might as well," Henry said, pocketing his hands and making his way to one side of the field with them, "So did anyone follow the rules 'cause I sure didn't?"

"I don't think anyone could," Takato shrugged as they made their way to the center. After a quick kick off, both sides scrambled to get the ball into the other team's net while trying to abide by Calumon's absurd rules. Even though they'd just played the night before, Guilmon and Terriermon were at just as much of a loss when it came to the rules as they were. In no time, they were all hopping on one leg, diving for the ball with their heads, and singing nursery rhymes backwards.

And it was as much fun as it was infuriating for everyone involved. The silliness of it outweighed the aggravation just enough for it to be enjoyable, especially when Guilmon bounced the ball with his head at Takato, who head butted it into their goal while sliding along the ground. Calumon called out, "Uh oh, you crossed the line! Now a mean old digimon attacks you!"

"Okay, but who's attacking me?" Takato asked as he dusted himself off, then shivered, "Did it get cold all of a sudden?"

"Cold? It's hot out!" Henry stopped, gasping for breath. Takato started stepping from side to side, then back and forth from the same spot, "Hot, cold, hot, cold, hot, cold, hot, cold."

"What are you doing Takato?" Juri asked, only to jump when Guilmon started growling. Takato dug his heel into the ground and drew a circle around where he was standing, "Just marking the cold spot. It's the weirdest thing."

"Hey, you have to stay on one leg!" Calumon pointed out, not expecting to be drowned out by both Takato and Henry's digivices ringing to life at the same time. Both boys stepped away as a fog began to appear over the circle Takato marked on the ground, and Takato groaned, "Wait, was that rule serious? A digimon will actually come out and attack us!?"

"Actually, it's just going to attack you," Terriermon pointed out, leaving Takato exasperatedly running backwards from the growing fog, "That's some rule and I don't want to die!"

It was the first time she'd stood so close to the fog, and it burned her eyes to be beside it. She closed her eyes and stepped back, cracking her eyes open just enough to follow the others as they retreated away. She noticed Takato fix his goggles over his eyes and turn to face the fog.

"Takato, what are you doing?" Juri gasped, still retreating away from the fog. She stopped just beside Henry at the edge of the fog as he examined his digivice, "It's Devidramon!"

"AGAIN?" Takato asked, a look of frustration drawn upon his face. He stared back into the fog to see a long black claw come out of the darkness. Then another claw, until they were in the midst of the demonic dragon again. Guilmon and Terriermon ran straight for it while Calumon retreated back towards Juri. She picked the little guy up, and stepped away from the monster. Then she felt her heart sink as she watched Takato raise his arms up to signal everyone not to fight before walking towards the creature, "Hang on. Nobody fight! Maybe we can talk to him. "

"Good luck! He's here for you!" Henry called out to him. That didn't stop Takato from continuing over to the digimon, "Devidramon! Why are you back? Go back to the-"

It answered him with a defiantly loud roar and Takato scrambled back. Terriermon and Guilmon squared off against the creature to cover Takato's retreat with Terriermon remarking, "So much for talking to him."

Devidramon turned his attention to the two little digimon in front of him. Terriermon panicked, "Uh, Henry - I don't think he's interested in Takato! We might not be able to sit this one out."

"R-right," Henry took a moment to compose himself before reaching for his deck of cards. Juri watched Takato do the same, retrieving a deck from his other pocket, "Let's end this quickly - don't kill him just...make him stop fighting! And if you can figure out how to digivolve again Henry, that'd be great."

"I don't even know how we did it the first time!" Henry complained. Both boys were shuffling through their decks furiously, looking for the correct power-ups to help in this fight. After a few seconds of searching, they found exactly the card's they needed. Both boys swapped glances once with each other before swiping their cards together, "DigiModify!"

"Excalibur Activate!" Takato cried.

"Strength Boost Activate!" Henry shouted.

A gauntlet with a glowing purple sword appeared on Guilmon's right arm and the digimon ran forwards while Terriermon started firing away, "Bunny Blast!"

Despite the added strength from Henry's card, Terriermon's attack bounced off the giant digimon and burst in the air like the bubbles they were. This left Guilmon running into the fight alone with the holy sword. As he was about to take his first swing, Devidramon swatted him away and advanced towards the humans. Juri picked up Calumon and retreated further back, only looking over her shoulder once to see Guilmon running at Devidramon again. Once again he was swatted aside, and Terriermon's bubble attacks did nothing to even the odds. Juri gasped, "Are they going to be alright?"

Then Guilmon was thrown into the side of the building by Devidramon. Takato screamed in a panic, "Guilmon! Guilmon are you okay!? Say something buddy! Please!"

Juri knew that feeling - that fear that someone was hurt and there was nothing that could be done. She should've known there was nothing she could've done, why did she even come here? She couldn't help them. This was beyond her. What...what could she do? She noticed Calumon shivering with fear in her arms and tried to hug the digimon to comfort him, and was blinded by a bright light for her efforts.

For a moment, it seemed like the light was coming from the mark on Calumon's head, and she dropped the digimon on the ground from surprise. She may have been blinded but that didn't mean she couldn't hear Guilmon triumphantly shout, "Guilmon! Digivolve to! Growlmon!"

When she regained her vision, she saw a digimon almost as large as Devidramon where Guilmon had been moments before. It looked like Guilmon too but larger, with white hair coming from his head and razor sharp blades protruding from his elbows. The large digimon roared out, cowing Devidramon before charging forward to slam the digimon into the ground. Devidramon held Growlmon up with one hand, trying to keep the digimon from attacking at point blank range with his attack.

Seeing what was about to happen, Takato ran forward trying to signal at the two digimon, "Growlmon! Don't kill him! Devidramon! Listen to me! We can help you! But please! Stop fighting us!"

Devidramon answered by slamming his fist into the ground and attempting to strike Takato, who just barely managed to side step it. Takato grunted, fiddling with his digivice, "Come on, come on. How did this thing do it before? Was it this? No. Maybe it was this? What was it? Gragh!"

"Whatever you're going to do, do it quick!" Henry shouted, "Growlmon can't pin him down forever!"

Takato looked up, obviously alarmed by what he'd said - it almost seemed like he hadn't considered Growlmon being unable to hold the digimon forever. And as he looked at all of them, his eyes stopped on Juri. She felt herself freeze, wondering what exactly was going through his head to cause such a pained expression. Then Takato clicked his tongue, "I'm sorry. Growlmon! Do what you have to!"

He sounded so defeated when he said it, as if he didn't want to say that. And he seemed more pained as Growlmon opened his mouth to spew out a bright red light, "Pyro Blaster!"

The attack struck Devidramon in the face, burning the digimon's head until the rest of it's body went limp and it turned into float cloud of glowing dust. And the dust gathered around Growlmon, condensing into a bright light that swallowed into Growlmon's body. The digimon roared triumphantly, signaling the end of the fight - but no one was cheering the win.

They were just glad it was over. And once Juri had a chance to calm down, she realized Calumon was gone. Maybe he'd run off in a panic? She looked around frantically, "Where's Calumon? He was here a second ago."

Her question was drowned out by Henry, "Okay, what's up Takato? Why do you keep trying to talk to the digimon that are trying to kill us?"

"I just…don't want any one to get hurt - that's all," Takato answered meekly, still obviously shaken by the fact that Growlmon ended the fight with Devidramon so quickly. He seemed to snap out of it though, long enough to state, "But now there's another problem."

They followed his finger as he pointed out Growlmon standing in front of them. The digimon had stopped in front of Takato and started sniffing the boy, "Takatomon, I'm hungry."

"I think I see what you mean," Henry scratched his head. Juri was at a loss though, and had no idea what either of them were talking about, "What do you mean? Devidramon's gone, right? What could be the problem?"

Terriermon ran up to the big digimon to pat his snout, "The problem is how do we get Growlmon back down to size? He stands out like a big red sore thumb!"

Juri looked up at the big digimon towering over them - he did stand out with his bright red skin and he was basically tall enough to look into the second story of the school building. And unlike Terriermon, he couldn't just pretend to be a doll. And there wasn't a box big enough to hide him. So how were they going to hide him.

* * *

The Hypnos Agent stepped out of his car, massaging his eyes to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing. A giant red dinosaur, in the middle of the school, surrounded by three kids who looked like they were talking to it. He picked up his radio to communicate it back to command, "Uh, command. I think we have a situation at site Bravo."

"Copy that, what's your status?" came Tally's voice over the radio. He looked up again at the site to make sure he wasn't hallucinating it before calling it in, "There's a wild one here, no doubt about that. And...there are kids. They're talking to it."

There was a pause on the radio before Tally replied, "Hang on. I'll notify Yamaki."

The agent shuddered. Usually, if anything went straight to Yamaki, it ended with him yelling at someone. He braced himself for that, still watching the monster from a distance as the kids started trying to move the creature. One of them, a boy, ran into a tool shed in the school and came out with a bucket of green paint and several rollers. Then...the strangest thing happened. They started painting the creature and it seemed to be all for it, raising his arms and turning for the kids as they painted every inch of his body.

Finally Yamaki came on the radio, "Say again agent. What exactly is going on?"

"Sir, they've gone from talking to it, to painting it green," the agent said into the radio, "Should I...move in?"

"Negative," Yamaki said, "Continue to monitor it but don't get too close. Keep it in site and wait for the QRF."

"Copy," the agent said. He placed the radio down and continued to watch from across the street. It was a good thing no one was in school today or this would've been a PR disaster for the program. Then he heard a soft click behind him, followed by the press of cold metal against his head. He raised his hands, and a woman's voice spoke, "Don't turn around. I'm not going to kill you but you're going to follow my instruction. Is that clear?"

"Burnt Leaf?" he asked, only to be answered when the steel pressed harder against his head. He nodded and the woman instructed, "Pick up the radio, call your command and tell them the monster just disappeared."

Not wanting to press his luck, he picked up the radio, "Ugh...Tally. We have a situation."

"Go ahead," she answered on the radio. The woman behind him added, "Make it convincing."

He took a deep breath to steady his nerves, "The wild one just...disappeared."

"Say again?" Tally asked. The agent added, "I don't know...it was there one second and gone the next. It was like...I don't know...maybe it went back?"

The gun pressed harder against the back of his head, and he worried he might've screwed this up. Then Tally asked, "Confirm it, agent."

The agent answered, "It's gone. I don't know how to confirm that it...disappeared into thin air."

There was a long silence on the radio, then she said, "Stand By. The QRF just finished at Site Alpha and is on the way."

"Affirmative. Standing by," he answered. He heard the woman click her tongue behind him and she said, "Well that's bad news for me. And bad news for you."

He felt something hard hit the back of his head, then fell into darkness.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Trouble is coming for Takato, Henry, Growlmon, Juri, and Terriermon! Will they be okay from the government agents? What'll happen when they meet? Will they narrowly escape the agents? What about Rika? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out in two weeks on Friday March 29th at 8 PM CST. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section and I'll try to respond as soon as I'm able. And hey, why not follow or favorite the story to keep up with all the latest updates? That's all I have for now! I'll see you guys in the next installment! Now let's take a look at previews for the next chapter!

Annoyed, she went to swat the deck away only to find it thrust into her hand. She was perplexed, taken aback by how quickly and smoothly his hand had moved to accomplish the feat. And it only angered her into dropping it on the ground. In turn, Takato scooped all the cards back up and neatly reassembled the deck. Then he offered it to her again. She raised an eyebrow, "What's your deal?"

"I'm trying to keep you from making a dumb decision," he explained. Rika's eyes narrowed, "Don't tell me I'm making a dumb decision, goggle head. I'm making a smart decision, because _this_ is dumb. All of this: the digimon, digivolution. All of it. I don't want anything to do with this."

"Then why'd you come back?" Takato asked with that stupid smile of his.

Rika paused at the question, certain that the goggle head was about to make some kind of dumb point, "You could've gone anywhere today. Tokyo's a big city. But you came here. Why?"


	10. Kyubimon

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 10:** **Kyubimon**

Yamato "Matt" Ishida and Private Detective Ken Ichijouji stepped out of their car in front of an old apartment building. The building was in one of the poorer area and it showed with the graffiti and the broken windows on the first floor of the building. Normally neither would come near this place but they had no choice in this matter. Matt looked over at Ken and asked, "Are you sure this is the place?"

"My lead says there's a unit in his name up on the fourth floor," Ken pointed up at the upper floors. Matt wasn't so sure - this place was way below anything he could afford. He knew his little brother had his hideaways but he never figured they'd be in such a…disreputable part of the city.

They made their way up to the apartment number under Takeru's name and knocked. As soon as fist hit wood, the door creaked open just a little. Just like all the other places they'd gone, the door was not only unlocked but slightly open. Matt moved Ken behind him, and carefully pushed the door open just a little more to see a thin string running at about ankle height. His little brother had really gone out of his way to trap his hideouts. And like always, the trap was armed. Matt sighed, recalling his experience in the SDF to carefully disarm the trip wire and make sure neither of them died in some violent explosion. Once the trap was disarmed, he pushed the door open and saw a shotgun rigged to fire facing towards the door.

It was just like all the others. Something or someone must've really spooked Takeru for him to take these steps. Just like all the other places, all he found was an empty apartment littered with newspaper clippings, photos scattered everywhere, and notes littered around the floor. He frowned, "What happened to you little brother?"

A quick walk around the apartment led him into a bedroom that looked like it had been ransacked. Ken went to check the kitchen while Matt made his way to the bedroom, sure that he'd be disheartened by the lack of any good for the first time in a long time, he felt a spark of hope in his chest. Sitting in the corner of the floor of the bedroom was a laptop plugged into a wall. It was on log-in screen, illuminating the darkened apartment as it awaited password entry.

"I found something," Matt shouted, picking up the laptop. It was at full power, but how long had it been here? Ken came into the room and noticed it too, "A laptop? Pay dirt. If we can get in, we might find more leads on Takeru. Any idea what his password is?"

Matt mulled it over for a moment and began to type in the first thing he could think of, "Maybe his birthday?"

 _PASSWORD INCORRECT: THREE MORE TRIES REMAIN_

"Damn," he cursed quietly. It was a silly guess, but it was worth a shot. Ken sighed, "Takeru doesn't seem like the kind of person who'd use his birthday. And it looks like he set up this laptop to either lock up or wipe itself if we guess wrong too many times. Any other ideas?"

"No," Matt frowned, closing the laptop and unplugged the charger from the wall, "Let's get out of here. This place gives me the creeps."

His mind raced with ideas as they made their way back downstairs. What would the password be? The name of his digimon partner, Patamon? The names of their parents? Their parents' wedding anniversary? Their divorce date? All of these ideas ran through his mind but they were all guesses in the end. And he only got three more chances. Whatever caused Takeru to booby trap the door, whatever caused him to just vanish...had Matt worried. Worried for his little brother. Worried for himself. Because what if whatever made his brother disappear also came after him? Or Ken? Or Sora?

* * *

 _"Rika? Rika! RIKA! Find me Rika! Find me!"_

"Ryo?" Rika mumbled as she opened her eyes. That was his voice wasn't it? Damn. Why was she thinking about him? She hadn't seen him in years? Why did he have to run through her mind so often? She rolled her way out of bed, taking a moment to let her eyes adjust to the light streaming in. It was late, going by now low the sun was. Had she really slept all day? She cracked a tired yawn and forced herself up, trying to forget about that stupid dream she had.

What was with that dream anyway? Why was she dreaming about him? She needed to blow off steam. After a quick shower, she grabbed her CD player and headphones, intending to take a long walk to clear her head. It was just as well too since her mom had that designer friend of hers over and a couple of other people she didn't know. They were all talking about a laptop, something about finding someone else. Maybe it was another fashion model for her mom's friend's clothing line? The idea of it made her sick, because why would anyone want to waste their time with that?

* * *

It took a bit of work but they were finally able to cover Growlmon in the green paint they'd recovered from the shed. Unfortunately, all that changed was he went from a giant red dinosaur to a giant green dinosaur. For the plan to hide him to work, they'd have to sneak him back to the park without anyone noticing. They took a route back full of side streets and back alleys to avoid as many people as was possible. Then they ran into their next problem - Growlmon wasn't going to fit in the shed. That didn't stop Takato from trying to shove him in though.

"Suck in your stomach, Growlmon!" he called out while trying to push his partner in. Growlmon frowned, "I did! I'm not going to fit."

His head barely managed to fit through the gated door, but Takato still pushing the large digimon as hard as he could. After watching this for some time, Juri tapped Takato's shoulder, "I think you should stop. Growlmon sounds like he's hurt."

"I am hurt. My face is squished inside! Can I come out now?" Growlmon whimpered, looking like a dog with his head stuck in a bucket. Takato stepped away from the giant dinosaur, letting him poke his head out of the shed so that he could massage his sore neck, "I'm sorry Takatomon. I'm just too big."

"No, no," Takato sighed, massaging the back of his neck guiltily, "I'm sorry, buddy. But we can't just leave you out in the park. The green paint helps you blend in, but any one paying attention will figure you out right away. How do we hide a bright green dinosaur?"

"If he lies down, he can take a nap and pretend he's a bush. Or he can sleep in the playground and all the kids will think he's a new play set!" Terriermon suggested all too happily.

"Yeah. I'm going to give that a hard no," Henry said calmly, already envisioning a hundred little Xiaochuns climbing all over the sleeping digimon. He wouldn't wish that torture on anyone. Not to mention how many parents would freak out if Growlmon suddenly ran away in frustration around a bunch of kids. The police would get involved! Or worse. While they thought, Growlmon's stomach suddenly grumbled and he whimpered, "Takatomon, I have to go potty."

"Oh crap," Takato ran a hand through his hair anxiously. Terriermon's wars perked up, "Literally!"

Takato became frantic as his mind raced, "Didn't even think about that. How do we...wait, Growlmon! Stop! Don't! Not here!"

It was too late. Growlmon made his way to bush and squatted down. Everyone looked away in disgust as he did his business and left a large steaming pile just out of sight but close enough to smell. And it reeked worse than anything they could imagine. Anything he made as Guilmon paled compared to this, "Come on, Growlmon!"

"I'm sorry. I just really had to go," Growlmon whimpered, "Please don't be mad."

"I'm not mad, just...frustrated. There are weird people running around Growlmon, and we saw them take a digimon. I don't want them to take you, too!" Takato frowned, putting the idea into Henry that something could just as easily happen to Terriermon if his family ever found out. Or to Renamon and Calumon - they hadn't seen her since yesterday and Calumon had run off in the middle of the fighting. Maybe they'd be okay - Renamon was a fast moving digimon so there was no doubt she could keep herself out of trouble. Calumon was a different story - how did a digimon so small and naive manage to keep itself out of trouble?

* * *

" _So I stood up, brushed the dirt away,_

 _And dreamed it was a brighter day!_

 _The chance I'm after came alive!_

 _Big and bigger! Biggest dreamer!_

 _Watch me race across the sky!_

 _Hold your breath and soar with me!_

 _Close your eyes and you can see it!_

 _Flying farther, flying faster!_

 _We can reach it if we try!_

 _Tomorrow's now!_

 _So take a bow!_

 _And kiss your past good bye!"_

Rika shut off her CD player, still unsure where this CD had come from. She didn't own it. At least, she didn't think she did. She'd been mindlessly walking for about an hour and, before she knew it, she was across town at the park where those idiots had been hiding their digimon. Not that she cared. It wasn't her concern what they were doing with their partners - she didn't care about digimon anymore. That's what she told herself but it didn't explain why she continued walking down the pathway towards the shed in the back of the park. The further she walked, the more she realized something was off about the forest - the trees seemed to be moving. On top of that, there was a foul stench in the air.

And judging by the noise coming from the shed, she was pretty sure who the cause of the smell was. She'd barely even made it to the first step when she realized the weird tree she'd been seeing was a larger version of Guilmon painted green for some reason. She blinked in disbelief - that idiot goggle head had gotten his partner to digivolve too! That annoyed her to no end, until she reminded herself it wasn't her problem. She didn't care about stuff like that anymore. It wasn't her business.

"We need to clean this up so that no one comes looking around," Henry said, "Otherwise we're going to have a lot of trouble hiding you guys here."

"Unless we can find a new place for them to hide," Juri proposed excitedly. Terriermon laughed, "Maybe he can dig another hole and hide in there?"

"That'll just draw more attention," Takato groaned. Once Rika was at the top of the stairs, she found all five of them standing around bickering while a giant pile of what she really hoped was bad smelling dirt sat nearby. She took one look at them and asked, "What are you guys doing up here?"

All five of them took notice of her, seemingly alarmed. She took off her headphones in preparation for whatever story they were going to tell her. Of course, she expected the goggle head to talk first but it was Henry who asked, "I thought you were done with digimon?"

Rika scoffed, "I am. But between the noise and the smell, it was hard to ignore whatever was going on."

"Thanks for proving my point," Takato added, gesturing at Growlmon, "Y'see buddy. This is why you needed to hold it. Now we have to figure out where we can hide you until you dedigivolve."

Rika took one look at the giant dinosaur and then at the door into the shed, spread wide so that the frame was loose and the walls around it were chipped. It looked like Takato had tried to force the big oaf through the small door. As if that would work. She sighed at their helplessness, "If you're trying to figure out how to shove your partner into that tiny thing, it's never going to work."

"Yeah, I know," Takato answered, kicking the dirt and pocketing his hands as if he were trying to hide the fact that he obviously had tried to force the gate open. Juri asked, "Do you know another place we can try, Rika?"

She mumbled under her breath about how this really wasn't her problem, then gestured for them to follow, "Yeah, I do."

"Really?" Takato's head perked up. She wasn't about to wait for them to start praising her and was already walking back down the path, "Keep up idiots. I don't have all day."

"What do you have to do on a Saturday?" Terriermon asked, but she ignored the question. Although she wasn't going to admit it, she'd been to this park several times in the past and knew of a gated off maintenance tunnel that was used to get into another park on the other side of the ward. Because it was gated, no one would be able to just wander in and find the digimon. Plus, it was big enough to fit a truck - it could hide the big dinosaur easy. Not that she cared or anything.

And it was just down the pathway too. But it seemed none of them had ever known it was here. Everyone gasped in awe of the large structure, Takato gleefully shouting, "Rika, this is perfect! How did you know this was here?"

"You notice a lot of things when you try to ignore people goggle head," she answered grumpily, checking the gate to make sure it wasn't locked and swinging it wide open for them. Growlmon took one look into the giant tunnel, lit up only by orange light that went on forever and asked, "This is so much bigger and nicer. Why don't I live here?"

"Because the last thing you need to do is to dig a hole in a tunnel," Takato answered, "And be careful in there, okay buddy? You don't want to bring the entire city down on top of you."

"Can that happen?" Juri asked. Takato shrugged, "He dug a hole in cement as Guilmon. Who knows what he could dig through as Growlmon. Thanks for helping us out, Rika."

"Whatever goggle head," she put her headphones on and turned to leave. She'd just taken her first few steps when Takato grabbed her shoulder and spun her around, "Hey, Wait."

Annoyed, she took her headphones back out, "What?"

"You should have this back," he reached into the pocket of his hoodie and retrieved her pouch full of cards attached to a belt. She looked at it wearily, not expecting to ever see those dumb cards ever again. Then again, she did keep running into these idiots everywhere she went. Tokyo was a big place, did they all just hang out in the same four blocks?

Annoyed, she went to swat the deck away only to find it thrust into her hand. She was perplexed, taken aback by how quickly and smoothly his hand had moved to accomplish the feat. And it only angered her into dropping it on the ground. In turn, Takato scooped all the cards back up and neatly reassembled the deck. Then he offered it to her again. She raised an eyebrow, "What's your deal?"

"I'm trying to keep you from making a dumb decision," he explained cheerfully. Rika's eyes narrowed, "Don't tell me I'm making a dumb decision, goggle head. I'm making a smart decision, because _this_ is dumb. All of this: the digimon, digivolution. All of it. I don't want anything to do with this."

"Then why'd you come back?" Takato asked with a stupid smile.

Rika paused at the question, certain that the goggle head was about to make some kind of dumb point, "You could've gone anywhere today. Tokyo's a big city. But you came here. Why?"

"What do you care?" Rika asked, trying her hardest to ignore the fact that she'd been thinking the same thing. Then he added another question, "Also, why do you still have your digivice?"

Rika looked down to see the digivice still dangling off her belt loop. She was about to reach for it but Takato thrust the deck back into her face, "Take it, Rika. You don't want to give up on digimon, even though you say otherwise. Why else would you still have that?"

"I-" Rika paused, trying to calm the hundred thoughts rushing through her head. Why did she still have it? It hadn't gone off in a while - was Renamon okay? Did the goggle head have a point? Did she really want to still have stuff to do with digimon? She tried her best to rationalize each thought as it came into her head but couldn't. She needed to get out of this situation fast and there was only one way to do it. She snatched her belt out of his hands and fastened it, "Don't think this means I want anything else to do with digimon, goggle head. I just don't like creeps handling my stuff."

Takato chuckled nervously. That might've been the thing that did it for Rika. She stepped on Takato's foot as hard as he could to wipe the smile off his face and the boy leapt up on it, "OW! OW! What gives?"

"Now we're even," Rika said, before putting her head phones back in and turning to leave. Just as she started playing her music again, she heard Terriermon comment, "I think she likes you."

"If that's how she shows she likes someone, I'd hate to see how she shows disliking someone."

* * *

The QRF arrived to find their field agent unconscious on the ground. They were just about to report it in to command when a black Toyota rolled to a stop beside them - the company car as it were. Immediately, Yamaki stepped out of the driver's seat and asked, "What the hell is going on? Why are you all just standing around?"

The lead member answered, "Sir, we arrived to find the agent unconscious. We were securing the street and preparing to call this in."

"What happened?" Yamaki demanded, making his way to the unconscious agent. He was out cold, with a small puddle of drool forming under his chin as he lay there unconscious. He gestured at the team, "Pack it in. We're taking him back to base. I want to know what the hell happened as soon as he gets up."

"Yes, sir," the QRF members answered. In truth, they were only packing it in because it was still broad daylight and armed men in military uniforms hanging around outside a school would only cause a panic if they were seen. As the QRF filed back into their deployment van and departed, Yamaki noticed something on the sidewalk across the street. Small drops of green paint traveling down the road. It seemed impossible to miss once you noticed it, and he went on following it with every intention of discovering where it went. The agent reported they were painting the monster green. He wanted to know why.

* * *

Renamon leapt from one tree to another, then from lamp post to lamp post, occasionally even running along the roof tops. It seemed odd that in a city where digimon tended to appear so frequently, that she hadn't run into any today. Then again, she had wandered pretty far from where Rika's house was. Not that it was any of her concern - she and Rika were done with each other and that's how they liked it. Still, it would've been nice to get some exercise every now and again - testing her skill on some new enemies would definitely break up the monotony of running around all day looking for something to punch.

After a while, she stopped atop one of the rooftops and gazed down on the city below. There were so many humans just wandering around, going about their business without a care in the world. She envied that, being able to live a life where you didn't have to worry about being eaten by something bigger or getting crushed into oblivion by someone stronger. Then again, with the ever increasing number of digimon appearances in this world, it seemed like the mood was slowly shifting into one of quiet paranoia.

It was hard to ignore the increased police officers patrolling the streets, or the fact that many of them were armed with a secondary weapon now.

Then the smell came. The noxious smell of an annoying little imp who wouldn't leaver he, "Hey tuts. No human today?"

"What do you want, Impmon?"

"Just checkin' on ya. Us digimons gotta stick togetha in this world," Impmon said appearing beside her. Renamon turned to face him ,"I thought you said only the smart survive."

"I did. And the smart thing to do is to stick together," Impmon gestures out at the humans below, "Maybe you ain't notice from bein' round that human too much, but some of them humans is attackin' us! Little ol' digimon just mindin' theys own business when these guys in funny masks show up. You saw 'em get Dokugumon that one night. He ain't the first. They got a Minotarumon not long ago. You and me, we could be next."

Renamon eyed him suspiciously, "And what do I get out of us sticking together?"

Impmon scoffed, "We watch each other's backs, that's all."

Then another smell came. The smell of cold mist and the feeling of electricity that made hair stand on end. Another digimon was appearing, and it was appearing nearby. She scanned the horizon in search of it, running the length of the rooftop in search of it. Impmon noticed her leaving and asked, "Hey! Where's you going?"

"To become stronger," Renamon answered. If she hurried, she could beat the humans there and absorb the energy for herself.

The mist was growing in the distance, and she knew where her destination was. A small park just a few blocks away. And whatever was coming through was strong - at least a champion level in strength if she had to guess. Just the thought of it excited her. Without a word, she leapt off the roof onto a lamp post and took off - the chase began!

* * *

Rika found herself wandering all her familiar routes - all the card shops where she bought booster packs, comic book stores where she could leaf through the magazines to see what cards would be coming out in the new expansions, rule books, everything. All of this used to excite her but now...she just felt a desire to go back to when it was just that simple. When digimon were just pictures on a card with some numbers for stats. Now she knew they were real, and they were after her.

It scared her. So much so that she jumped the moment that her digivice started beeping. She tried to play it off and hurried on down the path, trying her best to ignore the beeping at first. But the longer she tried, the louder it seemed to get. Until people started giving her funny looks like they expected her to answer their phone. Eventually, she gave in and lifted it up to see the radar pointing her to a park she liked to frequent when she wanted some alone time.

Then another image showed up: A white bird with red accents and golden mask resembling a human face. Harpymon - a champion level digimon. She clicked her tongue and went on as if nothing happened, trying to ignore goggle head's words as they crept up back into her mind.

" _I'm trying to keep you from making a dumb decision."_

" _You could've gone anywhere today. Tokyo's a big city. But you came here."_

" _You don_ _'_ _t want to give up on digimon, even though you say otherwise. Why else would you still have that?_ _"_

She wanted to go be with her partner. Except she didn't. But Renamon could get hurt without her. And it wasn't her problem. So why did she care?

Annoyed, she looked at the digivice one more time to make sure her heading was the same and made her way forward towards the park while quietly hoping that she wouldn't need to be there.

* * *

Renamon arrived in time to see the wild digimon appear through the mist. Harpymon. It made something like a screech and turned its head in every direction, scouting for any danger. That was good. It hadn't sensed her yet. A few times, it stretched its wings and tried to fly but nothing happened. Obviously, it was still getting its bearings from just appearing in the Real World. Which gave Renamon exactly the advantage she wanted.

She moved quickly, hoping to get a good blow in before it could effectively put up a fight. One leap into the air was all it took for Renamon to get the drop on the harpy. It panicked, taken aback by the surprise attack and tried to shake her off. But no matter how hard it tried, it couldn't fully get her off its back. And Renamon used this to her advantage. At this close range, there was no way she could miss, "DIAMOND STORM!"

The diamonds appeared just behind her and pierced the digimon's side. It shrieked in agony, finally finding the strength to throw Renamon off her back and rise up into the air. Once airborne, the digimon turned its attention on Renamon. Renamon winced and started to move - it may have the flight advantage but that wouldn't account for much if she didn't give it an easy target. She darted for the trees, hoping the extra coverage would make her a harder target to hit for Harpymon. But the digimon responded in kind by flying through the trees, using her immense claws to slice the trees down as she flew past.

Renamon couldn't let up - she continued running. Right past the little Calumon staring up at her with big eyes, "Hey. What's up?"

"What are you doing here?" Renamon had just enough time to gasp out before she leapt at the digimon, scooping him up before a tree fell on him. Harpymon continued her pursuit just behind them, and Calumon asked, "What game are you guys playing? You're not fighting are you? Why is everyone I run into fighting today? I just want to play and have fun!"

Renamon had no time to figure out what he meant by that. They were being attacked by Harpymon! She didn't have time to protect this digimon and fight off Harpymon at the same time. One of them was going to have to give. And she had the sneaking suspicion that Calumon wasn't going to stay out of the way.

She needed to put him someplace safe. But where? With trees falling left and right, this place was more dangerous than if she'd simply leave him out in the open. At least there, a stray tree wouldn't land on him. She had to get out of this death trap.

"DIGIMODIFY! SPEED BOOST ACTIVATE!"

Immediately, Renamon felt her step get lighter and her leap take her farther, making it easier to leap out of the trees and slide to a stop in what appeared to be a basketball court. And standing there was Rika with her digivice in one hand and set of cards in the other. Immediately her eyes narrowed, "What are _you_ doing here?"

"You looked like you could use a hand," Rika answered quietly, trying to avoid making eye contact. Renamon clicked her tongue, "I've done fine without you."

"Obviously not," Rika said, shifting her eyes back into the forest where Harpymon roared out screaming for blood, "What's their deal?"

"None of your concern, Ruki," Renamon warned the digimon. She set Calumon down and said, "If you want to be helpful, keep this thing out of my way."

Calumon seemed disappointed that she was disinterested in him, his ears shrinking down so that they were the size of small nubs sticking out of his head. That wasn't her problem though. He wasn't even her concern. Her only concern now was defeating Harpymon before Harpymon got the better of her. And she would do it without Rika's help.

* * *

Yamaki followed the trail of paint all the way to a park, and then to an access tunnel entrance where a pair of boys, a girl, and a small white rabbit thing were talking to each other. They were so busy doing whatever they were doing that they didn't even notice he was there. Which gave him the chance he needed to put a hand on his gun. He didn't want to start shooting at kids needlessly; perhaps he could convince them to surrender the wild one.

"Hey," Yamaki said. Immediately, the two boys stepped in front of the digimon and the girl. The one wearing goggles stated, "Oh, uh, hi. Don't mind us. We're just…hanging out."

"With that abomination," Yamaki stated plainly, gesturing at the rabbit. He watched the kids' faces turn to surprise while the boy mouth an obscenity, "You should watch your mouth. Kids your age shouldn't curse."

"And I'm not an abomination!" the rabbit protested. Yamaki blinked in surprise. They talked. He knew some could but most of them just screamed and hissed. He figured any speech would be more guttural and less eloquent. He stepped towards them cautiously, "Look, you kids should surrender that thing over to me. It's dangerous and-"

"Hard pass," the boy with goggles interrupted, "No offense, but I think we've got a better handle on this than you do. Also, thing? He has a name and it's Terriermon."

"Moumantai," it added rather cheerfully. Yamaki sighed, certain that this was going to be a serious challenge, "I wasn't asking you. I was telling you. That…Terriermon…is dangerous and people who get involved with those things tend to die. Give it to me before it does the same to you."

"We are talking about the same digimon, right?" the boy looked over at his shoulder at the small critter. The kids looked amongst themselves worriedly and the girl gasped, "Is that a gun?"

"He won't use it," the goggle wearing boy pointed out, "If he wanted to hurt us, he'd have done it by now. I mean look, it's still in its holster."

"That's not very reassuring," the other boy added. Everyone except the goggle wearing kid took a step back. In fact, he kept talking as he approached Yamaki, "But he hasn't used it yet. In fact, he's just standing there talking to us. Which means we can reason with him. Isn't that right?"

"There won't be any reasoning because you're going to give me the thing. You have no idea what you're getting involved with," Yamaki assured him, "For your own safety, do the right thing."

"We are doing the right thing," he replied, "By the way, you look familiar? Have we met?"

Yamaki raised an eyebrow. He'd never seen this boy before, so how did the boy recognize him? In fact, he'd gone out of his way to maintain his anonymity in government. Then the boy snapped his fingers, "Oh, I know! You come to my family bakery! You're the guy who gets those day old bagels!"

"Those bagels were a day old?" Yamaki repeated before shaking his head, "No, never mind. What that means is I know where your family lives. So if you don't want anything to happen to them, you'll-"

"Do absolutely nothing," the boy interrupted them, "Because if you were really okay with hurting us, you would've just shot us when you were sneaking up on us. Heck, we wouldn't even be standing here having this conversation. But you're not going to. Either you're too much of a good guy to do it, or you don't want to escalate needlessly. Either way, I think the best thing would be for you to walk away."

Yamaki rolled his eyes, and fired his gun at the ground just in front of the boy's foot. The boy took a step back, apparently getting the message. The other boy with them groaned, "Hey, how about you _don't_ antagonize the guy pointing a gun at us?"

"He won't shoot," the first boy said adamantly. Yamaki fired again at the boy's feet, "Do you want to reassess that or do you want to keep talking? This is your last chance. Give me the monster before anyone else gets hurt."

The kids were frozen, apparently with shock. Maybe he'd gone too far in firing the gun. The little creature even seemed scared he'd be given up. The girl said, "Maybe we should."

The goggle wearing boy raised up his hand to signal her and stepped towards Yamaki. He raised his gun to scare the boy off but he just kept walking. And he only stopped when the gun was pressed against his forehead. That took Yamaki off guard. Did the boy want to die? Was he just insane? He warned, "I will pull this trigger."

He didn't expect the boy's answer, "So what are you waiting for? Because as long as I'm alive, I'm not going to give you Terriermon. Guys, get out of here."

"But-" the girl started, only for the boy to signal again, "I'll catch up. Go!"

The remaining kids looked at each other before running past them. Yamaki was about to turn and fire but stopped when he had the gun level on them. He could've stopped this. Shot the kids and ended it here. But he couldn't bring himself to squeeze the trigger. Then the goggle headed boy pointed out, "See what I mean? You couldn't do it. You didn't want to."

Yamaki clicked his tongue angrily. Who was this kid to psychoanalyze him? He pointed at the kid angrily and said, "Any thing that happens because you let that thing loose in this world is on you, do you understand?"

"I understand perfectly," the boy replied, hurrying off to join his friends.

"We'll see about that," Yamaki clicked his tongue and took to leave. He wasn't going to report this. The last thing he needed was his superiors breathing down on him for not letting three kids get away with a wild one. And though he didn't want to admit it, part of him wondered if he should've just done it - shot the kids, taken the digimon, and left.

* * *

Rika was miffed. She offered to help and Renamon had snubbed her. She was left to babysit the baby of a digimon who couldn't even defend itself. Then again, she had invited this on herself. She had been just as rude to Renamon. So, if anything, she deserved to be yelled at. But she wasn't going to sit idly while Renamon faced this monster of a digimon by herself. She called out, "I'm trying to help."

"Really? Because it looks like you let Calumon wander away!" Renamon spat back. Rika looked down to see the little digimon walking off and hurried to scoop him up, "You're not going anywhere! There! I'm protecting him. Now let me help!"

"I don't need you!" Renamon shouted, busy leaping around the park while Harpymon gave chase. Calumon whimpered and pleased, "You two shouldn't fight. You're friends, right?"

"Can it," Rika scolded Calumon. She didn't have time to deal with his whimpering and innocent comments. She called out to Renamon, "Look, I'm sorry, okay? Is that want you want to hear?"

"What I want to hear is you leaving!" Renamon snapped angrily. Okay, she deserved that. But she reached for digivice anyway, "Forget that, I'm helping. Get ready for an advantage! Digimodify! Angemon's Wings Activate!"

A set of angelic wings appeared on Renamon's back and she took to the air, ramming Harpymon so that both digimon spiraled downward as they fell. It seemed like Renamon had won until Harpymon spread her wings, "Wind Seeker!"

A blast of razors flew out of Harpymon's wings, tearing at Renamon so that she had to let go, "AARRRGGHH!"

She screamed in agony and fell to the ground, collapsing at the edge of the basketball court. Rika dropped Calumon, running to her partner's side, "Renamon! Renamon! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Stay out of this," she muttered, pushing herself back up but barely able to stand. Harpymon landed before the pair, hissing and snapping at them in anger for what Renamon had done. She wasn't going to leave Renamon though. They were partners. And she wasn't going to sit back and let her get hurt, Rika grabbed a broken branch she found lying on the ground and held it like a sword, "Back off freak! Renamon's my partner and I'm not letting you anywhere near her!"

"You idiot, Rika!" Renamon spat back at her, "That digimon will tear you apart! Get out of here before you hurt yourself!"

"I'm not leaving you!" Rika spat back bitterly. Harpymon roared triumphantly and stepped forward to attack, inviting Rika to charge forward with the stick, "I said back off! Leave her alone!"

She swung the branch with all her might and watched it snap in half as it struck the digimon across the chest. Before she could even think about backing away, Harpymon kicked her aside and threw her into a tree. She screamed as the pain ripped through her body, amazed that Renamon was able to take this kind of punishment and still keep standing. It was awful; she wasn't sure she'd even be able to stand after that attack. She massaged the spot where Harpymon hit her and looked up at the digimon as it roared at her.

Renamon was off the side, struggling to stand up on her feet while also reaching out to her. It seemed Renamon actually did care despite her bravado. Rika was glad to know, since she had been quietly worried about Renamon too. It just sucked that it was too late to show it now. She was pretty sure they were going to both die here. So stupid.

And of course, Calumon was off to the side watching the whole thing with a glazed over look. He didn't even look like he was focusing on her. He'd probably spaced out, the air head. Harpymon stepped over her and Rika was sure this was it. A bright light flashed from Calumon and Rika closed her eyes to keep from being blinded. BUt over it, she could hear Renamon cry out, "Renamon! Digivolve to! Kyubimon!"

Rika forced her eyes open and saw a yellow fox with nine burning tails ram Harpymon in the side, throwing the digimon to the ground, "LEAVE HER ALONE!"

"Renamon?" Rika asked, shaking her head, "No, Kyubimon."

Kyubimon dug her claws into the ground, standing over Rika and growling at Harpymon, "If you go near her again, you're dead!"

Harpymon answered by hissing at her. Then she charged, without warning and with her wings spread out again. Renamon answered by whipping her tails at the bird digimon, letting the flames shoot forward with a great burst, "Fox Tail Inferno!"

The flames burned Harpymon alive and the digimon screamed out in agony, giving Kyubimon a sorely needed opening to ram the large digimon. While she did, Kyubimon started spinning in place so that she became engulfed in flame, "Dragon Wheel!"

The digimon had just enough time to scream out before disappearing into a cloud of data. Data that Kyubimon quickly absorbed. Once she finished, she turned to Rika, "Are you okay?"

Rika lay on the ground, still holding where she'd been hit and replied, "I'm fine. You digivolved."

"Yes, I did," Kyubimon nodded, stepping towards her, "You're hurt."

"It's nothing," Rika said, using the tree behind her to support herself as she stood back up. Her gut was killing her and she staggered for a moment but Kyubimon used her snout to help her along, "Why'd you do it, Rika?"

"Because…we're partners," Rika answered meekly. She wasn't very good at this sort of thing and it was hard to say what she was feeling, "About before. I shouldn't have..."

She paused. All this mushy stuff wasn't her. She hated it. She sighed, "Look, I'm not good at this kind of stuff. What I'm trying to say is I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry," Kyubimon shook her head, taking the girl off guard, "I wanted to prove I could be strong. In the end though, I needed you to digivolve. We needed each other. Partners?"

"Partners," Rika answered, leaning on the digimon to support herself but also trying to give something like an awkward hug. The digimon stooped down, "Home is a long way for you. Climb on and I'll take you there."

"Thanks, Kyubimon," Rika pulled away from the hug, gritting her teeth as she climbed on to the digimon. Then they were off to home.

* * *

Impmon watched from a tree branch above as Kyubimon rode away with her human. He felt the littlest tinge of anger at it. So she'd gone back to the human. Of course she did. He scoffed and turned to leave. Seeing it made him sick to his stomach and he needed to find a place to throw up.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Rika and Renamon are back together again! But what happened to Calumon? What will happen because of Takato and Yamaki's meeting? And can Matt and Ken find TK? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out next week on Friday April 5th at 8 PM CDT. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section and I'll try to respond as soon as I'm able. And hey, why not follow or favorite the story to keep up with all the latest updates? That's all I have for now! I'll see you guys in the next installment! Now let's take a look at previews for the next chapter!

Kazu and Kenta both freaked out at the sight, barely able to hide the concern in their voices, "What are you doing Takato?"

"Yeah, what is that?"

"I don't-" he paused again, "My head-"

He pressed his hands against his head, massaging his temples, "-hurts. There's something...digital field...outside."

He hurriedly stumbled his way out of the shed, trying to keep himself from falling over as he pushed the iron barred door open to the park. Juri followed him outside, once again certain that he was running off into certain danger without a thought for his own safety when she noticed an unseasonably strong wind. Then there was a faint glimmer of light in the distance, coming from the top of the nearby metropolitan building.


	11. Test Fire

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 11: Test Fire**

Azulongmon and Zhuqiaomon stood guard over the buried remains of the chasm that WarGreymon sacrificed himself to bury. Despite dropping part of the Digital World on top of himself and the...thing, the ground was beginning to crack with the same endeavor it had once before. And worse, they could sense _it_ beginning to come through. It didn't take long for one of their servants to come investigate the disturbance for themselves and see what held their attention. Mihiramon, the winged tiger, looked upon them and the broken ground. He sensed what they had but hadn't seen what they'd witnessed, "My lord sovereigns. What is that?"

"We don't know," Zhuqiaomon replied, "But whatever it is...it is unstoppable."

"Should I fetch WarGreymon?" Mihiramon asked. Both sovereigns were unable to answer, unsure how to explain what happened without scaring the digimon. But all they managed to do was unnerve their servant more than if they'd just told him, "My lords?"

"WarGreymon fell to the abomination," Zhuqiaomon answered, "Perhaps one of the greatest warriors of our world, sacrificed himself to buy us time and to help us escape."

Mihiramon stumbled for a moment, shaken by the news and barely containing the frantic fear in his voice, "Then what do we do?"

Azulongmon was unsure of what to say, looking to Zhuqiaomon and seeing the rage in his eyes. He wasn't sure what the digimon was thinking but knew he could be brash when angry. With a low growl, Zhuqiaomon answered, "In our panic, we may have erred in judgment. WarGreymon asked us to protect the Catalyst and keep it away from this thing. But it seems we need it now more than ever if we're going to have a chance to stop it."

Mihiramon bowed, "Whatever you ask of me, I will do, my lords."

Azulongmon looked at Zhuqiaomon in disbelief. He wasn't about to ask what he thought he was going to. Was he? These were desperate times, sure. But this desperate? They had to have other options. That's what he wanted to think but nothing came to mind.

"Assemble the others and prepare a search party. We need to go to the human world and reclaim the Catalyst."

* * *

Growlmon slept on the cold hard floor of the maintenance tunnel like Takatomon asked. It wasn't as cozy as his little shed which he missed, but at least he could fit inside. He was also having a hard time getting comfortable, although he wasn't sure if it was because he'd suddenly expanded to several times his size or if the tunnel wasn't as cozy as his shed. All the discomfort made it easy for him to notice his surroundings better - the dim lights that illuminated the tunnel in the dark, the soft rustling of the leaves as the wind blew through them, and the faint echo of footsteps as something came his way. Growlmon wanted to turn his head and look but he was too large to do that in the tunnel without getting stuck. Maybe that was why he was so uncomfortable?

"What are you doin' ya big palooka?" a small voice said behind him. Growlmon tried to turn his head but couldn't quite make out who he was looking at. He was just too big to turn in the tunnel, "Who's there?"

He felt something small squeeze by him, making its way to the front, "I am. What is ya? Deaf? Blind? Or stupid?"

"Your name is watisya?" Growlmon asked as a curiously small, dark digimon wearing a red scarf and gloves strolled into his field of view, "So it's stupid. Listen up! The name's Impmon. What's yours?"

Growlmon took one sniff of the little digimon, noting his odd smell and answered, "I'm Growlmon. Are you here to play?"

The little digimon scoffed, "Play? I ain't here to play! I'm here to see why a big guy like you is taking orders from some dumb human who locked you in a hole in the ground!"

"I like holes! I made one in my old home but it was too small. Now I live here," Growlmon answered cheerily, unsure of why the digimon had such an issue with them. Impmon groaned, flicking his noise and explaining, "Not the point you big lumox! I meant, why are you the one in the tunnel and not him? Your bigger, stronger, and tougher than he'll ever be. So why ain't you the one on the nice cozy bed and why isn't he out here in the dirt!?"

Growlmon turned his head, confused by the question, "Takatomon can't because his parents said he can't keep me in the house."

"Who cares what they say?" Impmon stamped his foot in frustration, somehow getting angrier for no particular reason, "Why don't you go and take that nice cozy bed for yourself and tell them to suck a lemon!?"

"What does suck a lemon mean?" Growlmon asked curiously, unsure of how to process the questions Impmon was asking. The only thing he was certain of was that Impmon was angry at something else. And his own question appeared to have left Impmon speechless. While he waited for an answer, Growlmon cracked a tired yawn and closed his eyes, "Night night. Sleepy time now."

He'd only had his eyes closed for a second when Impmon screamed in anger, "I'll teach you to disrespect me! Take this!"

Suddenly, Growlmon's nose was on fire and burning. The digimon yelped in agony and tried to put it out, only to find Impmon striking at him again with fireballs shooting from his finger, "Take this too! Have another!"

Growlmon got up as much as the tunnel would allow and responded the only way he could. He flicked the little digimon away, "I don't like this game and I don't want to play it anymore. Go away!"

"GAME! You think this is a game!? This ain't no game! I'm talking about how digimon get cajoled into doin' things for them humans and we ain't gettin' squat in return!" Impmon hissed out angrily, jumping up and down in what could only be pure anger, "And if you ain't wit' me, then yous on them's side!"

Just as he was about to strike again, Growlmon opened his mouth and spat out a fireball, "Pyro Blaster!"

Impmon yelped and narrowly managed to avoid it, complaining of his ill luck. The little digimon seemed to get tired after that, running off further into the tunnel to leave. That was fine by him because he didn't want to play a game with this little digimon any more.

* * *

Rika awoke to a sore side that she massaged to help the pain go away. It was still Sunday, and she made her way out into the dining room where her grandmother was busy setting breakfast out on the table - eggs, bacon, rice, fish, and miso soup. Rika tried to hide the fact that she was massaging her side but her grandmother noticed anyway, "What happened, Ruki?"

She hoped that if she didn't answer, her grandmother would let it go.

"Oh fine, what happened Rika?" she asked more sternly. Instead of avoiding the subject, her grandmother thought she just wasn't answering to her real name. She had to answer now and stammered, "Nothing. I took care of it."

"Let me look," her grandmother was on her faster than she could react, and lifted up her shirt to see the bruise from where she hit the tree yesterday. She gasped, "RUKI! What is this?"

"I already told you, it's nothing," she complained, lowering her shirt down to hide the bruise and sitting up from the table without having eaten a bite of breakfast. Once again, he grandmother was on her before she could react and pulled her back down into the chair, "You're not going anywhere young lady. What is this? Are you being bullied at school? Did someone pick a fight with you? What happened?"

Ruki was pulled back down and sighed, "It's nothing. I promise."

She could tell from her grandmother's expression that she was as frustrated as she was disappointed, "Fine, don't tell me. But we are going to a doctor and I'm calling your mother."

"Like she'd show up," Rika rolled her eyes. Her grandmother was quiet after that, and it occurred to her that she might've struck a nerve. They both had. Rika didn't protest after that - accompanying her grandmother to the doctor so that she could be looked at. It took most of the afternoon, but her bruises were treated and the doctor said that aside from being sore, she would be fine. At some point, her grandmother did use a cell phone to call her mom but her mom didn't answer. That only proved Rika's point though. Her mom wasn't going to show up. And her grandmother sensed that as they took the bus home. After a lengthy drawn out silence between them, her grandmother tried to reassure her, "Rika. I know how it looks. But your mother cares about you. She really does."

Rika clicked her tongue, "Then why is she never home? At least dad had the decency to not come back when he left."

"Rika, your father cared about you just as deeply. My son would never abandon his family!" she scolded her. Rika just scoffed at that assumption, "Then where is he, grandma? If he'd never abandon his family, then tell me where he is. Because I'm pretty sure I haven't seen him in a while! If he cared so much about me, then why doesn't he just tell me that to my face?"

She didn't realize it until she was done fuming, but she had let out a lot of pent up anger and frustration. And once she was finally able to calm herself down, she saw her grandmother's stunned face clearly. As well as the surprised looks from everyone else on the bus. She'd crossed a line in her fit of anger. She pocketed her hands, and turned away from the older woman so she couldn't see the hurt expression on her face. She wasn't even sure how to respond to her now, even after she'd taken her to the doctor, "Look, I'm…sorry. I'm…getting off on the next stop to take a walk. I'll see you when I get home tonight."

Once the bus rolled to a stop, she hurried off her seat to leave. Before she could even take her first step, she felt her grandmother hug her from behind. Her grandmother held her there for the longest time, until she finally said, "Take all the time you need Ruki. I'm not mad. But please be careful and don't get yourself hurt again. I love you."

"I…same," Rika answered, unable to say it back. She knew she'd hurt her grandmother by not saying it, but it would hurt her more if she did. It had been a long time since Rika had been able to say those words. She wasn't sure when she'd be able to say it again.

* * *

Yamaki jolted awake in his darkened office, realizing he'd fallen asleep at his desk again. He cracked a tired yawn and checked his computer screen, seeing a new email in from the Minister of Defense. Good, he'd been waiting for the response to authorize the use of the Juggernaut program. Hopefully, with the increase in digimon appearances, he would finally get approval. He opened the email and read it carefully.

 _Yamaki_

 _I've spoken with the Prime Minister. We've agreed to authorize a one time test of the Juggernaut Program. Clearance for the test firing will be Monday night at 1800 hours. Notify your team and stand by for my arrival. I'll be reporting what I see to the Prime Minster directly afterwards._

Yamaki smiled to himself, happy to see that the Hypnos Program was finally making some headway with the Prime Minster. This was the most progress the Hypnos Program had made as a part of Project Morpheus. He closed out the email, took a moment to straighten his clothes so that he looked presentable, and went out to make the announcement to the rest of the program. With the exception of Izumi, he was sure that the organization members would be happy to learn that their efforts weren't for nothing.

* * *

Rika made her way to the park and stopped in front of a vending machine to get herself a soda. Hopefully, a drink would help her clear her head and get her thoughts back together after the exchange she'd just had with her grandmother. When she went to reach the drink out of the machine, a thought occurred to her that Renamon was nearby as well - probably keeping an eye on her. She had to thank her for saving her life. Without a second's hesitation, she popped another coin in the machine and got her an iced coffee. Did digimon like iced coffee? Maybe Renamon was more a tea drinker? Maybe she should get her something else? Without thinking, she put several more coins in and got everything from tea to grape soda. She carried as many as she could in her arms and went under the shade of a nearby tree - knowing full well that Renamon would appear just above her.

She rested her back against the tree, making sure no one else in the park was looking, and called out to her partner, "Hey, Renamon."

"Yes, Rika?" she heard her partner call out to her from above. Rika chose her words carefully, "About yesterday. I'm…sorry for everything before and…wanted to say thanks. For saving me and being my friend."

"We are partners, after all," Renamon answered. Rika nodded and threw as many of the cans as she could up into the tree, delighted to see Renamon catch every single one with ease. Upon seeing the confusion on Renamon's face, Rika added, "I wasn't sure what kind of drink you liked, so I got you one of everything. Thanks."

As she stepped away from the tree to drink her own soda now, she could overhear her partner say, "My first gift. Let's try this one. Ooh, it packs quite the punch. But not as much as me."

Rika smiled to herself, happy to see that she'd put a smile on someone's face today.

* * *

When Monday morning finally came, Juri felt nothing but exhausted. Although Takato said he'd catch up, he never did. And she didn't see him at all Sunday. That just scared her more about what that creepy government guy could've done to him. Killed him? Kidnapped him for questioning and torture? All of it was making her anxious. So it came as a relief when she walked into the classroom to find Takato once again cornered by Kazu and Kenta excitedly asking him all kinds of questions about his digimon partner while he pleaded with them to keep their voices down.

She'd wanted to ask him about what happened with the man with the gun but hadn't been able to find him since he told them to head out without him. Henry didn't linger, hurrying home with Terriermon. She tried asking why he didn't just have Terriermon stay at home, but Henry embarrassedly admitted that it was because his family had been giving a hard time due to a misunderstanding.

Then Takato noticed her and waved, departing from Kazu and Kenta - to both their derision and the amusement of some of her other friends. Before she could even say hi, he gestured for her to join him back out in the hall. Trying to ignore the looks her friends were giving her, Juri followed Takato back out into the hall where he greeted her like nothing happened Saturday, "I'm glad to see you're okay Juri. Did Henry make it out okay?"

"I...yes, I think so," Juri nodded, "He took Terriermon home just in case that guy came back. Is Growlmon okay?"

"I think so," Takato massaged the back of his head, "He's back to being Guilmon by the way. I don't know what happened after I left but I found him hiding out in the bushes claiming some dark purple imp wouldn't stop bothering him."

Despite his cheery demeanor, Juri's mind was still on Saturday. She wanted to press what happened and what Takato knew that she didn't. What _they_ didn't - Rika and Henry. He'd talked to that man alone, walked right up to his gun and dared him to shoot. And he didn't seem at all bothered by any of it - it was like he'd just gotten in trouble at school, "Takato, what happened with the weird guy?"

"I took care of it," he answered evasively. When he saw the answer didn't satisfy her, he spoke at just above a whisper, "Okay, but promise you won't get mad or tell my parents. He wanted me to hand Growlmon over and I told him no. Then he said he was going to shoot me and I called his bluff."

"Takato!" she gasped out at that last part, "You were going to let him shoot you?"

"Of course not," he threw up his hands defensively, "But he wasn't going to, even if he threatened too."

"And what makes you so sure?" she demanded more seriously. He shrugged it off, "It's a long story and I'll tell you all about it another time."

"Stop doing dangerous things and getting yourself in to trouble!" she blurted out furiously, unsure of when she suddenly cared that much. Her exclamation took him off guard, but no more than when Miss Asaji appeared behind them with her books and lesson plan under her arm, "While I agree with your sentiment Juri, I think you need to remember that too. Class starts in a minute and you'll both get into trouble if you're not in there."

"Yes Miss Asaji," Takato nodded, taking Juri's hand without thinking and pulling her into the classroom. As soon as they stepped in, the entire class oohed at them - prompting Takato to let her hand go and make his way to his seat. Juri quietly took hers, only to get asked by her classmate, "Hey, Juri! When did you and Takato become a thing?"

"We're-" she tried to answer only for the bell to ring and Miss Asaji to walk in behind them, "Okay class, enough chatter. We have a whole module to get through today and we're going to work hard on it!"

Her friends giggled and returned to facing the front of the class, leaving Juri mortified at how everything must've been looking to the others. Maybe that was her sign for how weird her day was going to be and she should've paid more attention to it. Because during the lunch break, when her and her friends pushed their desks together to eat together, Henry suddenly appeared at the door and asked to borrow her for a second. Before she even had a chance to leave, Minami asked, "When did you get so popular, Juri?"

"I don't know," Juri replied as she made her way outside. She got outside only to see Henry gesturing her to follow him down the hall and under the stairs - which usually only meant one thing. It didn't help that Henry reached into his backpack while explaining, "Okay, so I'm really sorry about this but-"

"Henry," she said to get his attention, stopping just short of actually going under the stairs, "What's going on?"

He sighed, "My parents think I stole Terriermon from a girl at school and...it's weird. Look, can I just ask you to hang on to Terriermon for a few days until my parents forget about the whole thing?"

"Is that why you had him hiding out with Guilmon?" Juri asked in surprise. Henry nodded, "Yeah. I'm sorry to drop this on you, but do you mind taking care of him for a few days until my parents leave me alone? I'd leave him back with Takato, but I don't want to bother him since he's got Guilmon. And I don't want to leave them together in case that guy with the gun shows up again."

"That'll be a long time, Henry," Terriermon commented all too happily as Henry pulled him out of the bag. Henry whispered, "We're at school, keep it down! You're supposed to be a doll. Doll's don't talk."

"Moumantai," Terriermon winked. Henry groaned and set the digimon down, "Please Terriermon. The last thing I need is my parents getting mad at me about causing problems at school."

Terriermon took the hint and fell quiet - stiffening up so that he'd be perfectly still like a doll. Juri took Terriermon in her arms, surprised by how light he was despite having seen him take on digimon the size of a building without flinching. Henry waved, "Thanks Juri. I gotta go. I'll get him from you once things calm down at home."

"I'm just happy to help," Juri nodded, wondering how she was going to explain this to her friends when she got back up to class. She tried to think of how to explain it but was too worried Terriermon would break character and start talking again. But, to her surprise, he never broke character and pretending to be a doll. Which stopped her from having an explanation when she finally got back to class. All her friends 'oohed' again, and she was bombarded with questions when she sat back down. Minami was the first to ask, "Oh my gosh! Did that boy just give you a gift?"

"Uh, no," Juri tried to wave it off only to get asked by Yuuko, "Wow, Juri. What's up with all these gross boys paying attention to you?"

"It's not like that, honest!" Juri said, trying to put Terriermon away in her bag before anyone could notice it. Of course, it was too late for her because both Kazu and Kenta had come over, "Was that Terriermon?"

"It was a doll Henry gave me," Juri tried to explained to them, just wanting to end this conversation before it got any weirder. Of course, Yuuko had to ask, "A Terriermon? Isn't that a digimon? Juri, I didn't know you liked that silly boy stuff."

"It's not silly," Kazu defended, "It's the greatest game ever! And get this, the best player in the entire game is this one girl. I think her name's Rake or Raku or something like that."

"It's Rika," Takato said suddenly, appearing behind them and making them jump. Kenta pushed Takato's goggles down, "How do you do that?"

"I'm just cool like that," he answered rather proudly only to get shut down by Kazu, "Then how come you can sneak up on literally anyone except for Miss Asaji?"

"Because I have eyes in the back of my head," Miss Asaji answered as she walked into the classroom with her folders and books tucked under her arm, "Everyone, return to your seats. Lunch ended a minute ago."

"Yes Miss Asaji," the entire class sang, returning their desks to where they used to be. Thankfully the lesson moved rather quickly because she wanted to get out of this mess as soon as she could. Unfortunately for her, she could feel half of the class staring at her from behind. She'd never felt so self conscious before. Why did she have to sit in the middle of the class? Thankfully, the end of the day came quickly and Miss Asaji was about to dismiss them but stopped, "Now class, I have a quick announcement to make before you all go home. There've been reports of a child running around the school and the park at night - vandalizing and taking school property, harassing couples at the park, tearing up the grounds, and dumping a pile of manure there."

That last part made the class giggle, but Juri looked over her shoulder at Takato to see him averting his eyes to hide how nervous he was looking. She was certain Miss Asaji was looking at him too. Miss Asaji added, "I don't think I have to remind you to not be running around late at night. However, starting tonight, us teachers will be taking shifts patrolling both the school and the park at night. If we catch any of you there, there'll be big trouble. This is your one warning."

Then she smiled, "Okay, you're dismissed. Have a nice day."

As the class hurried out, her friend Yuuko came over, "So seriously, Juri. What's up with Takato and Henry?"

"Um," Juri paused, trying to think of an answer to that question but too lost on how to actually answer it. Before she could think of anything, Takato appeared beside, "Hey, Juri. Mind if I borrow you for a second?"

"Yeah, yeah sure!" she answered quickly, gathering her things to follow Takato out of the classroom. As they hurried out, she heard Minami called after them, "You know we're just going to follow you guys, right?"

"I really hope they don't," Takato thought allowed as they hurried out of the school building. Once they were out of the school, Juri frowned, "Us running out of the class together like that probably didn't help things."

"Hey, wait up!" Kazu shouted from behind them, running after them with Kenta to catch up. Takato sighed, obviously as frustrated about this day as she was, "Here's comes more trouble."

"Why would they be more trouble?" Juri asked them as they came in. Both boys stopped just short of them and Kenta added, "Look, Takato. We know you're busy with your girlfriend and everything but don't think you can cut us out of anything going with the digimon because of that. Guilmon's the cause of all the stuff at the park, right?"

"What? No! Of course not," Takato threw up his hands defensively, "At least, I don't think he is."

"You mean you don't know?" Kazu asked like he were accusing Takato of something. Takato rolled his eyes, "How would I? I don't know what Guilmon does when I'm not around."

"You're his partner, genius. Why don't you have him at your place anyway? Why's he living out in the park?" Kenta asked curious. Takato threw up his arms in defense, trying to explain, "How am I supposed to hide a 6 foot dinosaur that smells like a swamp on a hot day in my house? Mom and dad knew he was there on day one!"

"You could've just lied and said you got rid of him," Kenta offered only for Juri to point out, "Wouldn't it be obvious that he lied?"

"Whatever, let's just go see if it was Guilmon!" Kazu said ecstatically, "If it was, then I call dibs since obviously you're not cut out to be his partner, Takato."

"What? No! I'm not going to bet Guilmon like that!" Takato spat out in disgust, "What kind of person do you think I am?"

"The kind who abandons his friends over a girl," Kenta answered back. Juri wanted to be mad about that, but noticed the Takato already seemed upset enough. He didn't say or do anything about it - but the look on his face so obvious that she was surprised both Kazu and Kenta missed it. It was anger - something that she didn't think Takato was capable of with all the times he'd been trying to help even the most dangerous digimon. Was he embarrassed because of her or something else?

"Takato, are you alright?" she asked him, whilst Kenta and Kazu walked ahead. He nodded, "Yeah. We should go check on Guilmon before those two try to make him their partner."

* * *

Yamaki sat at a chair overseeing the preparations for the test fire of the Juggernaut. Progress was slow but at least it was moving - the delays coming mostly because of Izumi's reluctance to actually use the weapon in any actual capacity. He didn't fault Izumi for that - his personal connection with the creatures and his previous experiences made him sympathetic to their plight. However, Yamaki didn't need his sympathy. He needed his expertise on the subject - something he was unable to get anywhere else since the actual experts on the subject had all gone underground.

"How much longer?" he asked, growing impatient with the slow process, "The minister will be here soon."

"We just need to stabilize a few more of the generators," Riley answered expertly, still working on her computer and try to coordinate the different teams with Tally, "Previous tests were able to draw on the power systems in the building because it was localized. But to operate on this scale, we need to have a few more generators to keep the weapons from overloading the city's power grid and-"

"Without the technobabble," Yamaki interrupted quickly. Riley sighed, "A few more minutes to get the generators up, another thirty minutes to stabilize the energy feed, and then another hour to prime the weapon. We'll be ready to fire by the minister's command whenever he gets here."

"Well then don't delay," the minister's voice resonated behind him. Yamaki stood up off his chair and bowed towards his boss, "Sir, it's a pleasure to have you here."

"Save me the pleasantries Yamaki," the minister waved him off, "I told you to have this weapon ready to fire as soon as I arrived."

"Preparations are taking longer than expected," Yamaki answered. The Prime Minister scoffed at that, "Well then you'd better hope that this weapon works. We've sunk millions into funding this project and the Prime Minister hasn't exactly been pleased with the returns on this investment. If this test fire doesn't go without a hitch, we will shut you down and look at alternatives to this problem."

"I understand perfectly sir," Yamaki answered, trying his best to keep himself from saying something incredibly stupid in front of his boss. No matter how much he wanted to beat the man to a pulp for being just another lazy bureaucrat. Keeping his fists at his side, Yamaki went on to add, "We've tested the weapon a few times on smaller targets at a more targeted scale to ensure it works as designed. It's guaranteed to work."

"And how does it work exactly?" the minister asked. Yamaki gestured for the minister to follow, "If you'll come with me, we can have our resident expert Izumi explain the science behind Juggernaut."

* * *

Juri watched Guilmon playfully trying to get a ball from both Kazu and Kenta who were playing a weird game of catch. Despite his large size, Guilmon's clumsy movements made it hard for him to properly catch the ball with each throw. Both boys seemed excited enough by the game, which kept Guilmon distracted while Takato emptied his backpack of more bread than she thought could fit in there. That must've been the benefit of being the son of bakers - he had a near unlimited supply of bread to feed his partner.

Which was good since Terriermon had decided to help himself to some of it. As the little digimon ate, Takato asked, "So why do you have Terriermon, Juri?"

She ran a hand through her hair, trying to explain it without making it awkward only for Kenta to do the honor for her, "I think he's jealous-"

"It's not that," Juri interrupted before he could say another word, "Henry's parents think he's a doll that's stolen so he asked me to keep an eye on him."

"Well that's rude. Why not ask me?" Takato asked, massaging the side of his head. Juri frowned - sensing Takato's unease, "He said he didn't want to bother you since you've already got Guilmon. He said Terriermon can be just as much of a handful."

"Moumantai!" the little digimon said with large, spread out ears. It was starting to get late out now, and the sky turned orange with the setting sun. Juri reminded them, "We should probably go home before we get into trouble when the teachers show up."

"Got that right," Kazu picked up his belongings, "Hey Takato! How about we go over to my place and play a quick round! I'll give you a handicap and let you have my WarGreymon card! I've got like five of them."

"No thanks," Takato answered, still massaging the side of his head. Kazu started flapping his arms up and down, "What's the matter? Chicken? Bawk bawk bawk-awk!"

"Very funny," he patted his partner on the head, "Okay buddy. Don't cause any trouble and stay out of sight tonight. Some more people may come around looking for you, okay?"

"Okay," Guilmon nodded enthusiastically, returning to eating his bread. Kazu added, "So what makes you so sure that no one will just come knocking on the shed looking for him?"

"I doubt any of the teachers are going to come up here with Guilmon's big steaming pile there," Takato reasoned, "But I see your-"

* * *

"We're ready, sir," Riley announced to Yamaki's delight. Yamaki looked over to the Minister for his order but the man seemed genuinely annoyed that he hadn't just fired the weapon, "What are you waiting for? Fire away!"

"Fire the juggernaut!" Yamaki ordered, watching Izumi and Riley turn their keys simultaneously to fire the weapon. Everything was going according to plan. Every computer screen showed the weapon discharging its payload.

* * *

"-point and it's not like-" he paused, stopping mid sentence with his mouth hanging open. He took a step back and pressed himself against the wall for support, looking down at his arms which had become completely transparent again. Juri remembered this from last time and looked over at Terriermon and Guilmon again - both we're becoming transparent and distorted. Kazu and Kenta both freaked out at the sight, barely able to hide the concern in their voices, "What are you doing Takato?"

"Yeah, what is that?"

"I don't-" he paused again, "My head-"

He pressed his hands against his head, massaging his temples, "-hurts. There's something...digital field...outside."

He hurriedly stumbled his way out of the shed, trying to keep himself from falling over as he pushed the iron barred door open to the park. Juri followed him outside, once again certain that he was running off into certain danger without a thought for his own safety when she noticed an unseasonably strong wind. Then there was a faint glimmer of light in the distance, coming from the top of the nearby metropolitan building.

"Dude, what is that!?" Kazu pointed it out in panic.

Then the screaming - the faint screaming of something in horrible agony. Juri covered her ears to block it out, but that only seemed to make it louder. Takato was gesturing up at something, and Juri followed his gaze to see small shadows flying through the sky towards the light. Upon closer inspection of one, she recognized the vague outline of one of the digimon from their trading card game. Kazu shouted, "Are those digimon!?"

"It's a Digital Field," Takato shouted, "A...gate to the...Digital World. It's...it's pulling all...digimon in!"

Juri looked his way and noticed the ghostly appearance spread from his arms to his neck and to his legs. Kenta pointed it out, "If it's supposed to be pulling in digimon, what's happening to you!?"

Takato didn't answer, choosing to forcefully close the gate to the shed and keeping the digimon inside, "Stay in there! Do-on't come...out!"

Guilmon gestured at his tail and Terriermon, "Look, Takatomon! It's spread and it feels funnier!"

"That's...great," Takato said, leaning against the gate to keep it closed. Then, as quickly as it started, it stopped. The wind died and the ghostly affliction left Takato, Guilmon, and Terriermon. Any moment they would've used to appreciate it was lost when they heard a soft boom in the distance. The top of the Tokyo Metropolitan Building was smoking.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Why is the Tokyo Metropolitan Building in smoke? What happened to Takato and the digimon? And what exactly is happening in the Digital World? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out next week on Friday April 12th at 8 PM CDT. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section and I'll try to respond as soon as I'm able. And hey, why not follow or favorite the story to keep up with all the latest updates? That's all I have for now! I'll see you guys in the next installment! Now let's take a look at previews for the next chapter!

"Think of it as borrowing without permission, but with every intention of returning at a later date to be determined at another time," Takato answered with a pointed finger, shoving the shades into Henry's hand and looking back up at the burning tower. Kazu asked, "How did you fail our grammar test again?"

"Because I can't spell and I don't like kanji, hiragana, katakana, or romaji," Takato retorted grumpily, "Seriously, I have a hard enough time with the first three, I don't want to figure out how to write in someone else's language."

"Anyone got any ideas on how to get up there?" Henry looked up at the tall building. Rika answered, "One, but it only gets me and Renamon up there. What about you guys?"

"I have an idea, but it's going to make quite the scene," Takato answered sheepishly. Between the burning building, the hundreds of injured people, and the police, Juri was sure Takato had missed something kind of important and pointed that out to him, "There's already a scene, Takato. I don't think any one is going to notice."

"Yeah, but you guys should get clear in case any one comes to ask any questions," Takato answered sheepishly.


	12. From The Other Side

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 12: From The Other Side**

Smoke filled the air, and fire was everywhere. That wouldn't be so bad if Yamaki could get the ringing out of his ears. He was flat on his back for some reason, and his entire body ached. He sat up and looked around, seeing only darkness illuminated by the smoldering cinders. He called out, "Is everyone alright? Sound off!"

"I'm okay!" Riley answered. That was a relief.

"Fine, sir!" Another called back.

"My ears are ringing but I'm fine," Tally called back.

"Can anyone see anything?" one of the scientists shouted out in the dark.

"I can't see a thing through all this smoke!" another called out.

"I can't feel my leg," Izumi's voice groaned out in the dark. Yamaki stumbled around the dark room, following the sound of Izumi's voice until he saw the outline of a man in front of him. It was too dark to see properly and Yamaki lit up his cigarette light to see who he was looking at. It was Izumi - he looked fine. Yamaki brought the flame further down to his leg, and saw that he was missing his leg from the knee down. It was gone - obliterated into a messy blood stain scattered along the floor. Yamaki cursed, "Shit."

"Yamaki! What the hell happened?!" The minister asked. Yamaki ignored the minister, undoing his belt and tightening it around what remained of Izumi's leg to stop the bleeding. The guy was as pale as a ghost and would be soon if this wasn't stopped. He patted Izumi's shoulder to keep him awake, "Stay calm. Your leg is gone and you've lost a lot of blood. Don't worry. We'll get you out of here."

"Y-yeah," Izumi nodded, obviously too out of it to properly assess anything he'd heard. He probably didn't even realize how much pain he was supposed to be in. Yamaki took the man's arm over his shoulder and tucked another arm under Izumi, "Come on, stay with me Izumi."

"Generator...overload," Izumi mumbled, too drained of blood to finish whatever he was saying. The guy was hopping with each step Yamaki took, and Yamaki did his best to keep him from falling over. Thankfully, Riley came up on his other side and helped support him there so he wouldn't have to hobble along too much. Then the minister called out again, "YAMAKI! Don't you ignore me!"

"I don't know what happened, you fucking clod!" Yamaki snapped back, "And if you want to stay long enough to figure it out, you're welcome to. Burn yourself alive for all I care. I'm evacuating my people and getting them out of the building."

"Sir!" Tally called out to him, "There's something on the monitor! Something big!"

Yamaki called back, "I don't care! The buildings on fire! Let's evacuate!"

"SIR!" Tally called again, "You need to see this."

Yamaki paused and looked over his shoulder to see the large monitor over the room. It was a miracle it was still working after what just happened. But the fact that it was setting off an alert was more alarming. A single large red dot moved across the screen - stopping directly over the part of the map that marked the Metropolitan Building. Yamaki's jaw fell open, "It's going to bio-emerge here!?"

"Tear...open...worlds...connected," Izumi mumbled out between gasps for breath. Yamaki had no idea what he was babbling but there was a wild one coming here. A big one. They had to contain it, "Tally, deploy the QRF! Everyone else, get out of here!"

"Yamaki!" The minister shouted. He'd had enough of the minister's constant shouting for his name by that point. Without even a thought for any of the consequences, snapped at the older man, "Listen up you incompetent bureaucrat! I don't know what happened, and my only interest right now is getting my people out of here. If you want to sit there, point fingers, and scream like a little shit toddler trying to rattle to mommy and daddy, be my guest! But before you start throwing blame, remember that I can end your career with a single leak. Now get out of my way."

The minister blinked, but regained enough of his composure to begin reprimanding Yamaki, "How dare you-"

"Retsuko Sunoda, January 12th of this year, the Ichiraku Ramen Shop," Yamaki interrupted, the day the minister had met his mistress. Watching the minister's stunned face was all the leverage Yamaki needed. The minister tried to deny it, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, mister minister. It's so big. You're so good," Yamaki added to his stunned boss, knowing that specific line meant nothing out of context. But his boss's silence said more than anything else he could actually say, "We have a lot more than just that on you. And a lot more. Now get out of my way, or I'll be leaking everything I have."

The minister seemed to get the point and stepped out of their way, giving them the opportunity to finally get to safety. There were a lot of stairs on the way down and he didn't want to be here when the building came down on top of them.

* * *

The explosion was so loud that it was impossible to miss. Rika looked up from her walk and scanned the skyline. In the distance, she could see a small pillar of smoke rising up from the top most floor of the building. Then her digivice started beeping. She already had a guess why, and was unsurprised to see it pointing at the tower in front of her. But the image of the digimon it showed was completely alien to her. It was some kind of tiger with wings, but there was no other information appearing on the screen. What kind of image was this? What kind of digimon was she about to go up against? She reached for her deck, readying it when some guy with his hat pulled down over his face bumped into her - sending the deck scattering along the ground.

"Watch it!" she called out after the man bitterly, gathering her cards together quickly, "Are you ready, Renamon?"

"I am Rika," she heard her partner answer from behind her, "But this digimon is different. Whatever it is, it's strong. Stronger than anything we've faced before. If we go, we should be careful."

"We can handle it," she remarked confidently, trying her hardest to ignore the feeling of dread she could feel coming from that tower in the distance.

* * *

It was almost like something out of a crazy video game as far as Henry was concerned. The Tokyo Metropolitan Building was smoking in the distance, and his own digivice was pointing him at some strange digimon somewhere on top of it. Like the digivice expected him to go to the top of the tower and defeat the boss of a video game. But it couldn't even tell him anything about the digimon. And it was one he'd never heard or seen before. What was he supposed to do with this?

If he had to guess, it would've been to go find Juri so that he could get Terriermon, and then go after it. Odds were, she was with Takato and Guilmon. And there was no doubt that they were already on their way there. If anything was certain, Takato was on his way there to help out any way that he could. He sighed, contemplating what would possess the boy to act like that before hurrying after them himself. It was just enough time for him to wonder what was wrong with himself?

* * *

Kari and Mori scoured the park. She really wanted to go lie down after work. She loved her job, but that didn't mean she didn't like a break every once in a while. Then she heard the earth shattering boom in the distance and turned to see the smoke rising from the Metropolitan Building. She felt her heart stop, and instinctively reached into her pocket for her digivice.

Not that it would do any good. She may have brought the digivice with her everywhere, but that didn't mean she could actually use it in any meaningful way. Not without her partner. Besides, there was no reason to think this was a digimon. They hadn't been seen in a long time. Not since Takeru vanished.

"Miss Kamiya! We should probably head back!" Mori said nervously. Kari massaged her forehead as her current problem reminded her it was there. She looked at him, "Mister Mori. The Metropolitan Building is a good distance from here. There's no need to get worked up. Besides, we're still on the clock. Head home if you want, but I'm going to stay here."

She really hoped he did leave. She didn't care too much for his clinginess or attempts at earning her affection. Unfortunately for her, he seemed frozen in place out of terror. That was just as good. It meant she'd get a small break from him and, with any luck, she could leave him far enough behind that he'd get lost trying to find her for a while.

* * *

Takato swung the gate open to let the digimon out, "Are you guys okay?"

"Us? What about you?" Terriermon asked, pointing at his arms, "You were turning into a ghost, just like us!"

"I'm fine," he nodded, massaging his head, "Just a headache. A really bad headache. I've had worse."

His digivice started beeping erratically, and Juri noticed him wince at the sound, "And this isn't helping. Okay, what is it this time?"

"No idea, but I bet it has something to do with that," Kazu pointed upwards at the smoking top floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Building. It was hard to miss despite the setting sun, partially because of the soft glow of light coming from whatever fire was up there. Juri couldn't keep her eyes off it, wondering what digimon was up there that caused that and hoping everyone was alright. And Takato was going to run into that.

She wanted to urge him not to go until she saw the look on his face. Surprise, confusion, and a little bit of dread. He put the digivice away and said, "Maybe you guys should wait here."

Kazu raised his arms in protest, "Are you kidding!? There's no way we're missing this! We're coming to watch! I ain't listening to this stuff again on the news."

"Same!" Kenta agreed. Terriermon leapt up onto Guilmon's head, "Get us a box because we've got a long way to go to get there."

"Yeah, right," Takato picked the box up and threw it over them, "Try to keep up. Let's go guys!"

Without even hesitating, everyone followed Takato out of the park and towards the burning tower in the distance. The whole way, crowds of people stopped what they were doing to point up at the spectacle - some wondering aloud if it was monsters, terrorists, or an accident. They were so enraptured by it, that no one seemed to mind the fact that Guilmon was running by in his giant box. Or that it had a long red tail poking out from under the bottom.

The front of the building was no different - with a large crowd gathered at its base while fire crews and police kept everyone at a distance across the street. Behind the police line, it was hard to miss the lines of people leaving the building. Many were covered in soot, while others were visibly injured. Among them was the man in the shades they had seen the day before. The one who so casually threatened them with a gun.

He and some woman were helping to move another man - one who hobbled oddly on one leg. Another glance told her why - his other leg was gone. Blown clean off. Kenta gasped, "Maybe we should've stayed back. This looks bad."

"We can't back down now, dude!" Kazu shook his shoulder and pointed up, "There's a digimon up there and there's no way we're going to miss this fight."

"TAKATO! JURI!"

Everyone spun around to see Henry running up just behind them with his digivice dangling from his belt. He stopped to catch his breath, grabbing at his chest before finally asking, "What's going on?"

Takato pointed up at the smoke and fire, "We just got here. Whatever is coming through is on top of that building and we need to get up there before anyone else does."

"Alright, where's Terriermon?" Henry asked, looking between them all for some sign of his partner.

"Moumantai," his partner answered from inside the box. Henry smirked a little at his partner's carefree attitude, then noticed Kazu and Kenta, "What are you guys doing here?"

"We could ask you the same!" Kazu answered defensively.

"Why is it always you guys?" Rika asked as she appeared beside them with a hand on her hip. Juri was relieved to see her there, along with Takato who happily greeted, "Welcome back, Rika. Good to see you're back in the game!"

Rika rolled her eyes, "I wouldn't exactly call any of this a game, goggle head. So, what is it this time?"

Takato shrugged, "I have no idea. But you're going to want to put on your shades."

"At this time of night?" Kenta asked disbelievingly, until Takato explained, "The fog hurts your eyes when the digimon show up. Besides, the last thing any of us want is to get recognized. We've been lucky so far but we don't want that guy with the shades recognizing us."

He demonstrably put on his goggles and looked at Henry, "What about you?"

"I don't have anything," Henry answered sheepishly, looking to Rika as she put her pair of sunglasses on.

"Got it. Wait here," Takato nodded and disappeared into the crowd. A long uncomfortable silence passed between all of them. None of them had really spent time together outside of these digimon showing up and none of them really knew what to say to each other. The silence only broke when he reappeared a moment later with several pairs of shades: He handed a golden pair to herself, a green pair for Henry, a copper pair for Kazu and a pink one for Kenta, "You can borrow these."

"How come I get the pink ones?" Kenta complained sheepishly, missing the more obvious question that Henry had to ask, "Where...did you get this? My parents already think I stole Terriermon. I don't want them to think I moved up to stealing clothes and accessories."

"Think of it as borrowing without permission, but with every intention of returning at a later date to be determined at another time," Takato answered with a pointed finger, shoving the shades into Henry's hand and looking back up at the burning tower. Kazu asked, "How did you fail our grammar test again?"

"Because I can't spell and I don't like kanji, hiragana, katakana, or romaji," Takato retorted grumpily, "Seriously, I have a hard enough time with the first three, I don't want to figure out how to write in someone else's language."

"Anyone got any ideas on how to get up there?" Henry looked up at the tall building. Rika answered, "One, but it only gets me and Renamon up there. What about you guys?"

"I have an idea, but it's going to make quite the scene," Takato answered sheepishly. Between the burning building, the hundreds of injured people, and the police, Juri was sure Takato had missed something kind of important and pointed that out to him, "There's already a scene, Takato. I don't think any one is going to notice."

"Yeah, but you guys should get clear in case any one comes to ask any questions," Takato answered sheepishly.

* * *

Yamaki collapsed on the ground as soon as Izumi was safely in the hands of the paramedics. He turned down an oxygen tank, letting Riley have it first. Since he was a chronic smoker, the smoke didn't affect him as much as it affected her since she was struggling to breathe after the first flight of stairs. And they just marathoned the entire building. He took a minute to straighten himself out, trying to get to his senses when he noticed some all too familiar faces in the crowd. It was those kids again - the kids with the giant red dinosaur.

They must've had something to do with this. What else could it have been. He began walking towards them when a flash of light blinded his vision briefly. Instinctively, he put a hand on his gun and shielded his eyes with his other. When the light died down, he looked on to see the red dinosaur was a lot smaller in size now. And it had six white angelic wings sprouting from its back. It picked up the two boys and flew up towards the top of the building. Then a yellow fox leapt up beside them, running up the length of the building with a girl in its arms.

He felt his mouth fall open in disbelief at the sight before him. Who the hell were these kids? And more importantly, how did no one else see that? He wasn't crazy. He knew what he saw. It was hard to miss that bright flash of light. Then again, with so many flashing lights from the ambulances and the smoke coming from the Hypnos Program, odds were that there was too much going on for anyone to care. He would have to go up and take care of the problem alone.

He turned to head back in but was grabbed by Riley. Her grip was surprisingly strong for someone who was struggling to breathe just a moment ago, "Sir, where are you going?"

The question was formal, but he knew what she was asking. She was worried he was about to go do something incredibly stupid. He answered, "This isn't the time for this."

She snorted, "And this isn't the time to do anything stupid. We were the last ones out of the building. What are you going back in for?"

It was a fair question, but he still had to get up there. If he repeated what he saw, she'd think he was crazy. He had to make something up, "To make sure there was no one left behind."

She took a deep breath from the oxygen mask before passing it to him, "Be careful, sir. And come back alive, you idiot."

He nodded, placing the oxygen mask inside his coat pocket and running back inside. He hated lying to her, but she would've come with if she knew why he was really going back in. And he would never forgive himself if anything happened to her.

* * *

Upon landing on the roof of the building, they were greeted by the same digital fog that marked the arrival of a digimon. But this cloud was so large that it covered the whole roof of the building. Renamon set Rika down beside Guilmon as the dinosaur landed. He dropped Takato, Terriermon, and Henry before collapsing on his own, "You guys are heavy."

Terriermon asked the obvious, "So did you have a plan for after we got to this part?"

"Hope he likes talking," Takato answered sheepishly, "And hope that he doesn't just outright attack us."

"Humans...why are you here?" a deep voice spoke from within the fog, "You will stand aside or I will burn you away with fire."

"Okay, why is he threatening us before he even got here?" Rika demanded, trying to ignore the looks she was getting from the others. Terriermon pointed out, "Maybe he's mad we didn't roll out the welcome mat."

"This is a nice change of pace though - most of the time the digimon just flat out attack us and we have to fight," Henry pointed out only to be shushed by Takato. The boy actually stepped towards the fog, pressing a finger to his lips and whispering, "Maybe we shouldn't say anything to make him angry. He already sounds like he's in a bad mood."

"And what are you doing?" Rika asked him aloud. Takato answered with a big smile, "Talking and hoping that I can convince Mihiramon to not kill us all."

Everyone collectively groaned and Renamon buried her face in her hands as she asked, "That _will not_ work! That _does not_ work! It has _never_ worked for you! And how do you know its name?"

"That's the least important question right now," he spun on his heels to face the fog, "Mihiramon! We don't want to fight you. We want to help. Why are you here?"

The answer came with a growl from the fog, "Who are you to know me? How does a human know my name?"

Takato's expression soured as he answered, "I know quite a bit, actually. What I don't know is why all the digimon are coming to the human world. Are you looking for something? Is there danger? Why are you here?"

"A lowly human would never understand. Especially not a child," Mihiramon replied.

"Kids saved your world!" Takato shouted at it. Mihiramon responded with a dangerously loud roar, blowing away the fog with a gust of wind from his wings and revealing his form: a large golden tiger with purple stripes and angelic wings. The tiger stared down on Takato, growling at the boy until Guilmon ran between them. The two digimon growled at each other - daring the other to make the first move across some invisible line on the ground. Takato tried pulling the red digimon back, "Sorry about Guilmon. He gets like that sometimes. He really doesn't mean anything by it. Let's talk!"

"Digimon, subservient to a human?" Mihiramon growled, "This will not stand."

He roared again, creating another strong gust that nearly threw them all off the tower. Rika scoffed at Takato's attempt to talk - none of the digimon ever wanted to talk and this guy didn't seem to be any different. She quietly sifted through her deck for the right card and nodded to her partner. Then she shouted, "Forget talking. Get out of our world already, freak!"

"NO!" Takato pleaded, too late to stop Rika from swiping a card in her deck, "Digimodify! Strength Boost Activate! WarGreymon's Shield Activate!"

"STOP!" Takato pleaded again as Renamon ran straight at Mihiramon with the shield in her hand. Rika called out, "Defense, Renamon! Let's see what this guy has and then come up with a plan! Hey! Chinese kid!"

"It's Henry," the boy answered and she rolled her eyes, "Whatever, are you fighting or what?"

"I…" the boy paused, looking back up at this Mihiramon. Terriermon chimed in, "Let me make this easy, Henry. You won't have to worry about your parents thinking I'm stolen for much longer if you're not alive to get yelled at."

Something seemed to click inside Henry's brain and he understood - nodding in solemn agreement with his partner and saying, "You're right, Terriermon. Give me a second to find the right card."

Now they were both fighting Mihiramon, ignoring Takato's pleas to stop the fighting, "Guys, stop! We don't have to fight! Henry, listen to me!"

Anything Takato had to say was lost when a ball fire erupted from Mihiramon's mouth, narrowly missing all of them and hurtling off into the city and striking the side of a distant building. This only confirmed what Rika already knew - the creature was only interested in destruction. Well not if she had anything to say about it. She raised up her digivice and said again, "How about you listen to us, goggle head! That digimon is going to kill us and the city if we don't stop it! Get off your high horse, stop trying to talk it down, and help us kill it!"

Takato spat back, "I'm tired of fighting. For once, I just want to talk this out. For all we know, we're on the same side! And…damnit, I wish I knew how to use this digivice!"

"We've seen you use it, goggle head. Just swipe the damn cards!" she spouted, tossing her deck holder at him which he caught. She turned her attention away from him and back towards the battle playing out in front of them. As she instructed, Renamon was using the shield to tank hits from Mihiramon and keeping his attention so that they could attempt to find a weakness. But from what she could tell - the digimon's vicious attacks boiled down to sheer speed and brute force. In fact, if it weren't for Renamon's natural reaction speed and WarGreymon's sturdy shield, she likely would've been defeated already. How could she take relentless attack and make a strategy around that? He never seemed to pause or slow down. It was just one strike after another.

If he was too busy attacking, maybe he was unaware of his surroundings! Of course! She called out to Henry, "Henry, have your partner rush in from the side and attack his blindspot!"

Henry nodded, producing his deck, "Got it! Terriermon, get ready for a little pick me up!"

"Well, it's about time!" Terriermon cheered excitedly.

* * *

Calumon floated along playfully through the airy night sky of this strange human city using his large ears as wings to help him stay aloft. As he floated by, he noticed a ball of fire shoot past just in front of him and collide with a building off in the distance. The little digimon's eyes widened with curiously - he'd only ever seen something like that when there were digimon trying to kill each other. And there seemed to be a lot of that for a world that was supposed to only have humans.

Still, he traced the path of the fireball back to a distant burning building - perhaps one of the tallest buildings in the city. Calumon oohed, "I wonder what's happening there? It must be a fun party. It's gotta be if the building is on fire!"

Yes, that had to be it. There were absolutely no flaws in his logic. With a nod, he floated towards the building and the smoke. When he was just a short distance away, he noted the crowd of people gathered below on the city street and that confirmed his thoughts. There must've been a fun party going on! Why else would all these people be here? Oh right. He forgot. Fireballs only fly by when digimon are fighting each other.

"Diamond Storm!"

"Bunny Blast!"

"Samurai Tiger Tail!"

Calumon paused as he finally noticed the fighting happening in front of him. Of course there was fighting. There was always fighting - why was there always fighting? He hated to watch the fighting. He wished that it would stop! He wanted it to stop!

"STOP! PLEASE!"

Calumon noticed Guilmon's human friend - the weird kid with the goggles trying to call everyone back, "We don't have to fight! Guys! We can talk this out!"

"Oh sure, how about we just lay down and make it easy for him to finish us off," the mean girl said. Guilmon was the only one of the digimon not fighting - keeping his distance beside Takato but looking like he wanted nothing more than to run into the fight. Calumon descended down just behind them, keeping quiet to avoid being noticed so that he wouldn't get dragged into this. He wished he could be as brave as those other digimon, but he wasn't anywhere near as strong as they were. If he ran into this, he would be hurt and most likely die. But he didn't want that. He didn't want anyone to get hurt.

He noticed Takato fiddling with his digivice, seemingly annoyed that he couldn't figure something out, "Work. Why won't it work? Come on. Just-"

He outstretched his hand, pointing the digivice at the giant tiger digimon but nothing happened. The boy smacked his digivice again and again, growing frustrated with each slap, "It...isn't...working."

Calumon wanted to help, he really did. But he didn't know how he could.

"ENOUGH! SAMURAI TIGER TAIL!" the giant flying tiger roared, spinning his tail and striking the digimon as he spun in a circle. Renamon's shield shattered into tiny pieces as she and Terriermon were thrown backwards. Renamon managed to catch the edge of the building before she fell off while Terriermon slid to a stop just before falling. Both their partners came to their aid, leaving Takato and Guilmon alone to face down the tiger. It roared, "I have had enough of these games. I will complete my mission. The catalyst must be procured, and I will not allow you to stand in my way!"

That last part caught Takato's attention, "The catalyst? Why are you looking here for the catalyst?"

"The tamer is missing and options were few. The catalyst had to be hidden. Now it must be found!"

"Well you're looking in the wrong place. It would never be here in the Human World!" Takato shouted at it. Mihiramon roared in defiance, "I don't know who you are but a human cannot possibly know this. You are a danger to our world. And so we mete out your punishment!"

"Wait!" Takato tried to shout one second too late, unable to stop the tiger from charging him. Guilmon charged back, "Leave Takatomon alone!"

"Guilmon! DON'T!" Takato shouted. But the two were already dead set on rushing each other. Calumon wanted to help. He really did. But what could he do? He wasn't big like Guilmon, tough like Renamon, or witty like Terriermon. He whimpered, and noticed Takato looking at his digivice. The boy pleaded, "Please, just give me this. Please. JUST WORK!"

He thrust his digivice forward one more time. If only he could help. Calumon felt a surge of energy building inside him. He hated when this happened, and closed his eyes as a bright light flashed from his forehead.

* * *

"Guilmon! Digivolve to! Growlmon!"

"Terriermon! Digivolve to! Gargomon!"

"Renamon! Digivolve to! Kyubimon!"

Henry was stunned. Where did that light come from? And how had their partners all digivolved? He hadn't done anything. And Takato and Rika looked just as confused. Mihiramon appeared just as surprised, stopping his rampage for a moment to gaze upon their partner's' champion forms. Then a look of anger flashed across his face and he roared, "I don't know how you did this, but don't expect it to mean a thing. You will still perish at my hand!"

"It's really more of a claw," Gargomon pointed out. Mihiramon just roared in anger and Henry groaned, "Don't antagonize him!"

"I'm just saying," Gargomon insisted, continuing despite Mihiramon's ever growing scowl, "I mean the colloquialism doesn't work."

"I don't know if I'm more impressed that you know what that is, or that you're brave enough to taunt a guy who's been wiping the floor with you," Henry frowned, somehow reminding Gargomon that Mihiramon was there. This didn't stop him from getting in one last snarky remark, "He wouldn't be if you would use more of your cards."

And it was now that Mihiramon decided to attack, "Samurai Tiger Tail!"

"Gargo Pellets!"

"Fox Tail Inferno!"

"Pyro Blaster!"

Mihiramon missed his mark and was struck from three different directions. Annoyed, the tiger digimon spread his wings and took to the air, "I've had enough of this. It ends now!"

He ascended skyward and disappeared into the darkness. Henry strained his eyes to see and saw nothing, removing his glasses to try and get a better look. But between the smoke and the dark, the tiger had vanished into the night sky. He looked over at the others, "Did he run away?"

"That wasn't very brave. So much for all that tough guy talk," Gargomon added. For a moment, it did seem that Mihiramon had simply fled the fight for his own safety. Before any of them had a chance to relax, Kyubimon's eyes narrowed and she shouted, "He hasn't left. He's still there."

"You can see him? What is he doing?" Rika asked anxiously, trying to scan the horizon for the digimon but unable to see anything. Then Takato suggested, "We might want to get off the roof."

"We're not leaving until this is over goggle head," Rika countered until Takato added, "I think he's going to slam into the roof of the building."

"What? Why would he do that?" Rika shouted in disbelief until they heard it. The unmistakable boom of something breaking the sound barrier. And when they looked up, they saw Mihiramon hurtling towards right at them with his wings folded. He was indeed going to divebomb the building. Takato explained, "That's why! If the impact doesn't kill us, the fall from this height will."

It finally made sense why and Henry shouted, "Shoot him down, guys!"

Gargomon primed his guns and aimed upwards, "Don't gotta tell me twice! Gargo Pellets!"

"Fox Tail Inferno!"

"Pyro Blaster!"

All three digimon started shooting upwards at Mihiramon, but he was moving too fast for them to get a good hit in. Takato shouted, "We're going to have to jump guys."

"What? You want us to jump? Jump where!?" Rika shouted in disbelief only to be answered with Takato gesturing up, "Up. He can't knock us off the building if we're off the building."

"That's your idea?" Rika shouted in disbelief, realizing they were running out of time and options. Takato grabbed onto his partner's legs and shouted, "Just do it! Get ready guys! Ready...JUMP!"

Rika grabbed onto Kyubimon's leg and Henry latched onto Gargomon bandolier. On Takato's command, all three of their partners leapt into the air as high as they could and Mihiramon slammed into the building with enough force to bust a hole in the ceiling and disappear into the floor below. The whole building shook, and they could hear windows shattering all the way down the length of the building. When all three digimon landed, Mihiramon was just starting to climb out of the hole he made, "That should've thrown you all off the building. How did you survive?"

"Maybe we're smarter than you give us credit for," Takato began, still trying to reason with the giant angry tiger digimon, "Come on. Talk to us. We can help."

"We don't need your help," Mihiramon hissed, spreading his wings to try his high speed attack again. He roared out defiantly, shaking the already weakened building and Henry shouted, "The building can't take another hit like that! Gargomon! Ground him!"

"Got it," Gargomon primed his guns again and fired on Mihiramon's wings. The digimon howled in pain as the bullets shredded holes in both, forcing the digimon to fold them, "GRAH! INSOLENT LITTLE- You die first!"

"Well...fu-," was all Gargomon had time to say before Mihiramon swiped the digimon with his razor sharp claws. The champion flew backwards from the near lethal strike - regressing back to his rookie form of Terriermon and lying defeated at Henry's feet. Henry's mouth fell open and he ran to protect his partner - knowing full well he'd get killed for trying. But he wasn't going to let his partner get hurt any more. Then he noticed the look on Takato's face. Takato was busily sorting through the deck of Rika's cards - quietly mumbling to himself about needing something, anything.

"Kyubimon! Help him out! Goggle head! Give me back my deck!" Rika shouted at him. Kyubimon rushed in and slammed into Mihiramon from the side, knocking him straight into Growlmon who lifted the digimon up and slammed him back onto the ground, "Pyrosphere!"

"ENOUGH!" Mihiramon roared, using his tail as a whip to smack Growlmon away and then slashing at him with his claws. Growlmon hissed in pain and stepped back.

* * *

Takato yelped in pain and dropped all of Rika's cards on the ground. Rika shouted, "What the hell, goggle head!?"

"Hurts," was all Takato managed to say as he sank to the ground, clutching at his chest. Rika looked down at the boy, unsure of what he was saying and then back up over at Growlmon and Mihiramon. Mihiramon was really slicing away at Growlmon - seemingly intent on ripping the digimon to pieces. Then she looked back down at Takato, clutching his chest - in the exact same spot where Mihiramon was swiping away at Growlmon.

That made no sense. What? Was she supposed to believe that the goggle head actually felt the pain that Growlmon did? That wasn't how it worked. Kyubimon and Gargomon had taken plenty of hits and neither she nor Henry were in any kind of pain. Then she felt Takato grab her leg, "We have to...stop this."

She offered her hand to help him up and he looked onward at Mihiramon. He was holding one of the cards in her hand and he looked ready to use it. But he couldn't bring himself to move his hand or the card. He turned his head to Rika, weakly admitting, "I can't...barely move...what card...is this?"

She snatched the card out of his hand and examined it - it was blue and had the drawing of a digimon she'd never seen before. It looked like a digitized Tyrannomon without the fins, or a Greymon without the horns. She'd never seen this card before and had no idea where it'd come from. But it came from her deck? When did she get this? What she did know was it was unlike any other card she'd seen before. She'd say it felt like plastic but it wasn't. It was like it was made out of...something. But she didn't know. But there was something telling her to use it. Something in the back of her head screaming to use it - that this was the answer to the problem.

" _Use it Rika."_

She looked up, unsure where the voice had come from. But if this was what they needed, then she would use it. She swiped the card through the digivice, "Digimodify!"

Her digivice erupted into a bright light and leapt straight towards the Kyubimon, "Kyubimon! Digivolve to! Taomon!"

Renamon was stunned by her partner's new appearance - she stood there upright like a human but wearing the clothes of a Taoist priest; long and white with purple leggings marked by the symbols of hokey old religions and beliefs. The digimon floated upwards, standing upon some invisible platform. Mihiramon became angered at the sight of the digimon, "You...so...you're the tamer."

"That's right!" Rika snapped, "I'm a digimon tamer, right here!"

"So you became a girl," Mihiramon mused, confusing her, "Became? I was born a girl, dingus! What makes you think-"

"It's just-"

"Just what?" Rika snapped angrily, "Just what!?"

"Wait, why did you say a and not the? Aren't you _the_ Digimon Tamer?" Mihiramon asked. All Rika would give him was a dirty look. What kind of question was that? There were three of them!

"Never mind," Mihiramon grumbled, "So this is where you've been. You...you will come with me."

"Are you kidding me? You blew up my home!," Rika snapped angrily, "Taomon! Shut him up!"

"I thought you'd never ask," Taomon said with a bit more joy than she probably should have. She raised up her hand to produce a giant paintbrush - she drew a symbol in the air and held her hands in a praying posture, "Bon-Hitsu-Sen! Talisman of Light!"

The Sanskrit character flew through the air straight towards Mihiramon. He tried to leap out of the way but was held down by Growlmon, "You're not going anywhere!"

Mihiramon roared in anger and sank his fangs into Growlmon's neck. Takato seemed to scream in agonizing pain - sinking to his knees before finally collapsing to the ground. Growlmon roared and held Mihiramon tighter - forcing the digimon to get hit head on by the attack. Mihiramon let out one final roar before he was consumed by the ink symbols and exploded into a burst of data. As the data dissipated, Tao went about absorbing his data for herself.

The fight was over. She knew it. She was the stronger tamer - the best. She and Renamon had beaten this freakazoid coming over into their world. But before she could cheer, she heard Growlmon cry out, "Takatomon!"

That's right. That goggle head collapsed. She turned to see him struggling to get back up and there was something weird happening to him. He was clutching his chest like he was in terrible pain. But something else was happening. It was like he was distorting - like a digimon that was about to die but not quite. He looked up at her, making brief eye contact that pleaded for help, "We have...have to go...not safe...park..."

And then he collapsed. The park. The park could only mean one thing. But why the park? She wanted to ask why but the building started to groan from their battle. She could worry about this later. They had to go now if they didn't want to call to their deaths.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Takato's unconscious. That thing is defeated, but what was it? What is Takato hiding? And if one got through, who else can? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of the Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out in two weeks on Friday April 26th at 8 PM CDT. Let me know what you guys think in the reviews section. I try to reply as soon as I'm able. If you loved it, be sure to favorite and follow the story to keep up with all the latest updates. Now let's look at some previews for the next chapter:

"You kids get outta here! This ain't a place for kids."

All three of them turned and ran before the office could get another word in, "Hey! Get back here! I mean...don't. I mean- damn kids!"

Kazu stuck his tongue out at the officer as they made their way to safety at the end of the block and just outside a corner. Kenta groaned, "Man, now we'll never know what's going on over there."

"You think they're going to be okay?" Juri asked nervously, dreading the answer that either boy could give. It didn't help that Kazu cheekily added, "Those others are probably okay but I'd be worried about Takato. That kid couldn't play the card game to save his life. And they-"

Every word made Judi's heart sink and it only stopped when Kenta elbowed the boy hard in the gut. Kazu was about to protest until Kenta pointed her out. He took the hint and offered an apologetic, "Sorry. I mean, he's probably fine. I taught him every move in the game he knows!"


	13. Mistaken Identity

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 13: Mistaken Identity**

Yamaki examined the roof of the tower carefully now that the monsters were gone. Just the sheer destruction of that fight was terrifying. The helipad was cracked and broken, some of the air ducts were dented, and there was a gaping hole that wasn't there before. He scratched his head as he tried to figure out a way to explain this to his superiors without causing any trouble. Without a doubt, the minister was going to try some kind of power play and Yamaki's threat of ruining his career wouldn't go very far.

Still, the Juggernaut did what it was supposed to for the few seconds that it had worked. Now the question was how? Izumi mumbled something about tears in reality. It was only supposed to destroy the wild ones, these monsters that kept coming into their world. So how did that big one use it to come through...unless it worked both ways.

Like a bilge pump used to pump water out, only it had been poorly designed and let more water in instead. That had to be it! They would need to revise it...but Izumi was out of the picture and would be for a while until he was recovered. And there was no guarantee that the hole created by the juggernaut was closed. As far as he knew, he'd made things worse by making it easier for these things to get into their world.

He took a deep breath to calm his thoughts as he contemplated what the correct course of actions for his organization would be. But the calm quickly turned to distress as he realized there was little he could do to make this right - even damage control was out of the question. He'd have to revamp his staff - that meant finding the original programmers. The Monster Makers as they liked to call themselves. The ones responsible for this mess.

And while he was at it, he may as well go find the rest of Izumi's group. The ones protected by Burnt Leaf for so long. Four were too public figures to approach: the musician, the fashion designer, the model, and the lawyer. But the rest could be tracked down if he looked in the right places: one was a school teacher and likely unwilling to cooperate, another was overseas helping with a humanitarian crisis, the detective and his wife were untouchable, the ramen shop owner moved too often and was around too many people to at any given time to acquire. That left the author - the one who'd gone underground and vanished after that damn book of his. That damn, stupid book. Maybe it was time he picked it up and gave it a read? He'd need all the help he could get to track them all down.

* * *

Juri looked up at the burning building in silence, trying her best to stay calm. Takato and the others were probably battling for their lives up there and she hated feeling powerless to do anything about it. Especially when the whole building shook without warning and every glass windows shattered from the top - sending debris falling onto the crowd below. Police and fire crews tried to evacuate the onlookers further back but Juri, Kazu, and Kenta refused to budge. They were all eager to know what was going on up there.

Then a flash of light and a loud roar echoed from the top. Some of the crowd speculated that the building was about to collapse, inciting a small panic that sent people scrambling for safety. She hoped they were all okay - that everyone was safe and everything would be alright. Although she had to admit that the long pauses between all the thunderous booms and loud shouts were making her nervous. The next period of silence was the longest and Kazu broke out in complaint, "Ah! I can't take this anymore! I want to know what's going on!"

His outburst caught the attention of a police officer pointed them out, "Hey there kids! Shouldn't you be at home? Get outta here before you get hurt!"

All three of them turned and ran before the office could get another word in, "Hey! Get back here! I mean don't. I mean-ARGH, damn kids!"

Kazu stuck his tongue out at the officer as they made their way to safety at the end of the block and just outside a corner. Kenta groaned, "Man, now we'll never know what's going on over there."

"You think they're going to be okay?" Juri asked nervously, dreading the answer that either boy could give. It didn't help that Kazu cheekily added, "Those other guys are probably okay but I'd be worried about Takato. That kid couldn't play the card game to save his life. And they-"

Every word made Juri's heart sink and it only stopped when Kenta elbowed him hard in the gut. Kazu was about to protest until Kenta pointed at her. He took the hint and offered an apologetic, "Sorry. I mean, he's probably fine. I taught him every move in the game he knows!"

"You just said he couldn't play to save his life," Juri replied sheepishly. That remark made Kazu and Kenta look down quietly, and now Juri was certain of the worse. He was dead. They were all dead.

"That's where you guys went," Rika's voice said behind her. Juri jumped in surprise but felt more at ease to hear her voice. Then she noticed she was alone and looked annoyed. Granted, she was always annoyed but there was something different about this look of annoyance. Kazu cheered, "You're okay! What happened? Wait, where are the others?"

"I'll tell you on the way," Rika gestured for them to follow her through the busy streets. Juri hesitated for a moment, wondering when they'd finally come down from the fight - and still dwelling on the fact that Rika was alone until she called out again, "Hurry up!"

Snapped back to her sense, Juri followed after her and asked, "Rika, where are Henry and Takato and the others?"

She was drowned out by Kazu and Kenta excitedly firing one question after another, "So what happened?"

"What was that thing?"

"How'd you guys beat it?"

"If you guys took it out, it can't have been that tough!"

It was hard to tell if the questions were annoying her or not since her expression didn't change, and it didn't help that she sounded almost proud of her answers, "Renamon and I took it out. She digivolved to champion and wiped the floor with that guy."

Kenta cheered ecstatically, "So who was it?"

"It's name was Mihiramon," Rika answered, "Goggle head knew its name. Don't ask me why or how."

"Where is the guy anyway? He didn't bail, did he?" Kazu followed up, before promptly putting his foot in his mouth, "Don't tell me he let himself get shown up by a girl."

He realized his mistake when Rika turned on her heel and kicked him as hard as she could in the shin. Kazu jumped up on one leg while nursing it and complaining, "What gives?"

"What do you think?" Rika snapped angrily, getting ready to kick him again until Kazu panicked, "I get it! I get it! Sorry. Geez. What's got you all worked up?"

"Rika," Juri said, trying to get her attention. Rika straightened herself out, still shooting the stink eye at Kazu who kept his mouth shut. Once again, Juri asked, "Where are the others?"

The fact that Rika's expression was still unreadable didn't help but she did finally answer, "I was getting to that. Henry, Guilmon, and Terriermon are with Takato. While we were fighting Mihiramon, something happened. Every time Guilmon got hurt, Takato...sort of felt it. He passed out just before the fight ended - we didn't know what to do so we took him to the park."

Any relief Juri had washed away and she worriedly demanded, "Is he okay? Should we take him to a hospital?"

"He said no," Rika replied sheepishly, motioning for them to follow again. Juri raised an eyebrow at that, unsure of how to answer. Thankfully, Kenta asked the question she was thinking, "I thought you said he was passed out."

"He is," Rika admitted, scratching her head and changing her answer, "He was? Look, it's weird. One second, he's out cold and just lying there. The next second he jumps up and spazzes out, then he just passes out again."

"So is he out cold or isn't he?" Kazu asked. Rika turned, looking ready to kick him again until he threw up his arms to defend himself. That was enough to calm her down and she went back to leading the way to the park - where they found Miss Asaji quietly patrolling the park with Mister Mori, another teacher who seemed to be annoying her. Mister Mori was saying something about how they had to think about the children and their innocent minds until Miss Asaji groaned, "Mister Mori, I think I left my clothes in the oven or something like that. I have to go back to my house. Why don't you finish off the patrol without me?"

Without you?" Mister Mori repeated, seemingly hurt by her desire to get as far away from him as possible. As she turned towards them, they all frantically dove into the bushes to avoid being seen. Rika had no idea why they'd done that, and was even angrier when they all pulled her in with them. Once Miss Asaji passed, Rika hissed, "What the hell gives, creeps?"

Kenta wearily explained, "They're teachers from our school - they started patrolling the park at night because they think a student has been running around late at night. They probably meant Takato or Guilmon but it's no fair that it messes with us too!"

"You're telling me," Rika agreed grumpily, watching as Mister Mori continued on ahead. Juri couldn't help but feel sad for Mister Mori whose expression turned glum once Miss Asaji was out of sight. That is, until he grunted something about getting her one day no matter how long it would take. Then he continued into the darkness humming about how beautiful he thought she was. Once they were certain it was safe, they stepped out of the bushes and were called out right away, "It may be dark out but I'm holding a flashlight. It wasn't that hard to see you kids."

All four of them jumped at the same time, turning to see Miss Asaji with folded arms, "What are you kids doing here this late? It's a school night. Go home."

"Well, y'see," Kazu was about to begin until Miss Asaji held up her hand, "Look Kazu. You're already causing me enough trouble in class. Save your excuses and go home. I don't want to hear that it was my student causing all this trouble at the park. Get."

She gestured at the entrance to the park seriously, glaring at them the only way a teacher could. However, that wasn't enough to actually scare them away. In fact, Rika folded her arms grumpily, "And who are you?"

"Your teacher," Miss Asaji started with a hand on her hip. Rika countered with, "You're not _my_ teacher."

"Well, I'm _theirs_ ," Miss Asaji gestured at Juri, Kazu, and Kenta. Juri felt her heart sink as Miss Asaji turned her gaze upon them, "And if you don't go home now, I'll personally be walking each of you home so that we can have a nice long chat with your parents. Is that what you-"

WOOSH!

She paused when something flew past overhead. It was so dark that none of them were able to see it properly, but they could make out its frightening visage. Something small and fast, illuminated only by the small flicker of fire. Miss Asaji pointed her flashlight in the direction it had gone, muttering something under her breath before instructing, "You kids go home now. I'm going to check that out."

"Is that such a good idea Miss Asaji?" Juri asked nervously, "Whatever that was looked dangerous. Maybe we should call the police?"

"Don't worry about me. You kids head on home," she assured them, gesturing for them to leave before hurrying on by herself to inspect whatever it was. Juri looked back at the rest of them, but they all seemed unfazed by what they'd seen. Then Rika declared, "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"Go? Go where?" Juri asked anxiously, racing to catch up to the girl as she went on ahead. Rika never answered and they followed along in total silence until they came across the familiar shed where Takato had been hiding his partner for the longest time. Inside was dark, lit up only by the soft moonlight trickling in through the door. Henry stood just at the door, nervously remarking, "What took so long?"

"We ran into their teachers outside," Rika answered, gesturing at the rest of them. Then she pointed into a corner, where Guilmon and Terriermon were busy hovering over Takato lying there with his eyes closed. He was alarmingly still for someone who was supposed to be unconscious and Juri had to restrain herself from breaking down at the sight of him. He was dead. He had to be. What other explanation was there for why he wasn't moving. She was so nervous, she barely registered Rika asking, "How's he doing?"

"I'm awake!" Takato shouted as he jolted up for a brief second before falling back into unconsciousness. Henry answered sheepishly, "Still doing that, so you tell me."

"He's not dead is he?" Kazu walked up to the boy and poked the side of his face. Terriermon remarked, "He doesn't smell dead. He smells...weird."

"Wait, did he pee himself?" Kenta asked while trying to stifle a snicker. Guilmon answered with a raised hand, "Sorry, that was me. I couldn't hold it so I went in the hole."

He gestured towards the hole in the center of the floor that he'd dug out for himself to use as a bed. Everyone tried to hold back the need to be sick while Henry added, "Hey, you guys didn't have to hear it. It was like a fire hose."

"Well, now I'm imagining it. Thanks," Rika crossed her arms, and went over to the boy's side. She gestured at him carefully, "See what I mean though? He's out cold one second, and the next he jumps up before passing out again."

Kazu crossed his arms and frowned, "So he's not okay. Maybe we should've told Miss Asaji?"

"NO!" Takato jolted up again, this time leaping to his feet and pointing a finger at Kazu, "She can't know. She's not…supposed to…wait…where are we?"

"Oh, so he is awake," Terriermon chuckled. As soon as Guilmon tackled the boy with a great big huh, Terriermon changed his response, "Well, maybe not any more."

"TAKATOMON'S OKAY!" Guilmon said excitedly, practically smothering Takato on the ground. The boy tried to push him off but the dinosaur was too heavy for him, "Whoa! Okay. It's good to see you too, boy. Now…get…get off!"

He was finally able to push Guilmon back, dust himself off and collect himself. He took a quick look around himself and remarked, "We're back in the shed. What did I miss?"

"We beat Mihiramon, you passed out, then we came here," Henry answered quickly, "So I think it's time we talked because it's obvious you're keeping something from us. For starters: how did you know that digimon's name? All three of our digivices scanned it and none of them knew what it was. But you did. How?"

"I…" Takato paused, massaging the back of his neck nervously and casting a sideways glance at Juri. She recalled the things he said when they were in private together not that long ago - when he said there were things he couldn't tell her, because the last thing he wanted was to put her in danger. After a long silence he looked up at them, "If…look guys…there's…"

"Spit it out already goggle head," Rika snapped out angrily. Takato mumbled something about promising the truth a long time ago before answering, "I guess it was going to come out sooner or later. If I tell you, you have to swear that you won't tell anyone else."

Henry noted, "It's not like we're telling anyone about our digimon. If anything, you're the one telling people things. Juri, Kazu, and Kenta here are the only ones who shouldn't know about them and you're the one who told them."

"It was a slip of the tongue," Takato answered sheepishly, avoiding making eye contact with Henry before going on, "But besides that, I need to know you guys won't tell anyone. But it's not just that. Things are probably going to get more dangerous from here. There are people out there shooting at digimon - you three know what I'm talking about. And that guy who pulled the gun on us before won't hesitate again. He will shoot the next time he shows up. And with Mihiramon? He was trying to kill us! If we're not careful, we will die. So if you guys still want to know, to be a part of this, I need you to know that there's no backing down from here."

"We're still here aren't we?" Terriermon asked rhetorically, pointing at Takato, "And after everything that's happened, I think it's safe to say that we're not going anywhere. So just tell us already."

Juri wasn't so sure about that. She should leave. If she didn't stay, she was definitely going to cause everyone to die. That was her lot. People she got too close to ended up dead. And she didn't want that for any of them. It would be better if she left. She turned to leave but was stopped by Kazu grabbing her arm, "Where do you think you're going? You were here before Kenta and I were! You're not chickening out now, right?"

"I just-" Juri tried to counter but paused, trying to choose her words carefully before she answered. Thankfully, Takato answered for her, "Juri is one of the bravest people I know. If she wants to walk away from this, it's not because she's scared. It's because she's being smart and doesn't to take part in the risk. That's not chickening out. Chickening out would be leaving after I tell you guys. So I'm going to ask one last time, are you sure you want to be a part of this?"

Juri noticed the hesitation on everyone's face, all except Rika who stated, "We just took on a giant flying tiger with wings. At this point, I don't think we're scared of anything else."

"Yeah, well, you might just want to be," Takato answered, looking around the room to make sure no one else was leaving. When everyone stayed, he started pacing around uncomfortably, "Where's Renamon?"

Rika's expression soured and she called out, "Renamon?"

"Here," her partner appeared at the entrance without a sound, "I've been listening in. So what is it you're not telling everyone?"

Takato nodded, wearing a surprisingly guilty look as he began to answer, "I promised a long time ago to someone, I can't remember who, that I'd stop hiding things. That I would be more…open, so…let's start with this: I'm from the Digital World."

An uncomfortably long pause followed. Juri wasn't sure how to take that news, or even if she should believe it. The others looked just as incredulous, and Kazu was quick to point an accusing finger, "Get outta here with that. So what? You're from the Digital World? I think those goggles are on too tight because you're-"

He stopped when he noticed Takato pull something out of his pocket and held it out for them to see. It was some kind of weird device, with a small screen, a tiny antenna, and only two buttons. It was also banged up and dented in a few spots, worn and torn beyond belief. Even the screen had been cracked somehow. Takato explained, "This was my original digivice. It shorted out after I…changed? No, that's not the right way to put it."

He scratched his head carefully, "I've been trying to fix it since I remembered it existed…but…I gotta be honest, my memories aren't all there yet. Everything's fuzzy after the change. And a little mixed up - I remember things but I don't think I'm remembering them in the right order or correctly for that matter, which is part of the problem."

Henry sighed, "That doesn't exactly prove anything. You could've gotten that from anywhere."

Takato frowned at that point, "We just fought a giant monster tiger from another world and this is what you're skeptical about?"

That seemed to knock Henry down a peg and he nodded, "You got me there. So you're from the Digital World? How'd you end up here?"

Takato scratched his head, "I…had to leave the Digital World. Something was happening. To be honest, my head is still a little…fuzzy on a lot of the details. I remember landing in a coat rack and there was this really angry guy. I ran into some people. Then a cat talked? Everything gets fuzzy after that. By the time I got my head straight enough to think coherently, I'd been living with my parents…well, the Matsudas for a couple of months."

"So your memory's screwed up is what you're saying," Kenta summarized quickly, "So then how can we be sure that you're remembering anything correctly? You could be getting it all wrong and we would never know!"

It was a good point, one that was hard to argue. It didn't help that Takato added, "I guess you'll just have to trust me."

"Trust you?" Rika asked skeptically. Takato nodded, "Yeah, that's what friends do. Right?"

"Did he just call Rika a friend?" Terriermon asked aloud. Rika appeared so stunned by the question that it took her the longest time to actually respond, "How do we fix your memory?"

Takato scratched his head as he tried to answer, "There was someone supposed to help me. Someone close to me that was supposed to find me. Or I was supposed to find them. But without my digivice working properly, I couldn't do anything about it. And then the new one showed up and I couldn't get it to work right. That was around the time Guilmon showed up. It's like someone tried to make a digivice, didn't know how to do it properly, and just started putting features in. It's...like someone dropped a cellphone in the Ashikaga era and then they tried to make one of their own but they didn't understand what electricity was so we got a crude one that runs on steam and fire."

"Okay, what?" Kazu repeated dumbfounded. Takato held up his red digivice one more time and explained, "Whatever this is, it isn't a true digivice. It's a cheap copy - one with a lot of the same features, I think. Problem is, it's so low tech and basic that I can't figure it out. And they added a card reader for some reason. Which is cool, especially since it helps our digimon. I want to meet whoever came up with it just to shake their hand."

"So then if you're from the Digital World, what are you?" Henry asked seriously, tapping the boy on the forehead, "You're not a digimon, or at the least you're not any kind of digimon I've ever heard of. You look too human to be that. Unless you're one of the Angemon line. But the wings would kind of give that away. So what are you?"

"He is a Digital Ancient," Renamon answered, turning each of their heads, "A being so old they were said to be among the first life in the Digital World. Wise and powerful beyond all measure. You're supposed to be dead. None of you are left. Well, except one of them. And you're kind of young to be that Ancient."

"Personally, I always preferred the Guardians of Destiny but Digital Ancients works too," Takato admitted quietly, turning to Renamon with a curious glint in his eyes, "Now how do you know about the Guardians?"

"It's a story among the digimon. Most think it as a fairy tale, few think of them as historical fact, and even fewer believe the story of The Digimon Tamer," Renamon stated with folded arms, "An Ancient who went renegade and turned against his own people - but a hero to the Digital World as a whole. The Digimon Tamer would always appear in times of darkness but nothing is known of what became of them. Some believe that they went to the human world. Others believe they wander the most desolate corners of the Digital World, protecting it from an even older evil by keeping it at bay. But I can be certain of this: you may be an Ancient but you are no Digimon Tamer."

"And what makes you so sure?" Takato asked. Renamon looked at the others in the room, "The Tamer was a great warrior - someone who could make an army turn and run at the sound of their name. The Tamer never lost a battle. All I see when I look at you is a scared little boy trying to make peace with every monster coming his way. I don't know your story, but I can say you are not a warrior and you can't make people run at the sound of your name. As for the event you mentioned...I believe you ran from the Great War. The conflict that marked the end of your people and hid here in the human world. Some stories say a few Ancients survived by hiding, and it would make sense that you would be one of them."

"Takatomon's not a coward," Guilmon snapped angrily, "He wants to help people."

"Okay, how about we don't start fighting each other and instead talk about Mihiramon," Terriermon jumped between the two digimon to stop them from turning on each other. The two digimon didn't step away but their moods did calm a little. Terriermon then asked, "So what's his deal?"

Takato could only shrug, "Mihiramon's a Deva. Guardian digimon working for...something...kings? Lords? What was it...I want to say a flying snake with chains. And I think a turtle?"

"Well that's helpful," Terriermon commented as his head sunk down. Takato hastily added, "I do remember Mihiramon was the tiger if that helps...and there was a pig? Maybe it was a snake? No that's not...or maybe it was...it would help if I didn't have this headache!"

"Yeah, you sure get a lot of head aches," Henry remarked at the boy massaging his head, "So we've got an all powerful ancient being who doesn't remember anything before a few months ago and we're fighting the first of what sounds like a bunch of really strong digimon coming into our world because...why?"

Takato threw up his hands in frustration, "I don't know. He said they were after The Catalyst but that couldn't be here. That's secured in the Digital World. Sorry if I'm not being too clear, the headache makes it impossible to concentrate. It's like I'm...looking at two different worlds collapsing on each other. Two things that are both true but also can't be true. But there's also a third?"

"What?" Kenta asked, "In Japanese please?"

Renamon clarified for them, "Ancients were supposed to be sensitive to the natural order of the world around them and could detect anything that posed a threat to that change. It's likely his headaches are a result of that."

When that answer didn't help anything, Takato added, "Think like a book. Actually think like two books, only someone ripped all the pages out and threw them into the air. And when the pages were all gathered together, instead of separating the two books, they mashed them together to make a single book. And somehow, against all odds, the new book was put together to make just enough sense that you could make a story out of it. But all the little inconsistencies nag at the back of your head. It's like that, but bigger. And with the Digital World and the digimon showing up, it's like someone's trying to force a third book in the middle It's a miracle that only my head is pounding and nothing else."

"Wait, three?" Kazu asked, "There's our world and the DigiWorld. What else is there?"

Takato raised an eyebrow and shot him a confused look, as if he were asking Kazu if he'd just asked that question, "Isn't it obvious?"

"No," Kazu started tapping his foot. Takato sighed, "Okay, what year is it?"

"What kinda dumb question is that? It's 2001!" Rika shouted in exasperation, "So, congrats. You've told us the truth and it all ended up being either stuff we already knew or stuff we can't even use. Is there anything else pointless you want to tell us?"

Rika's outburst sounded like she'd been holding that back for a while. Juri was worried that Takato had been seriously hurt and now she was certain something was wrong with him. And she wasn't sure there was anything any of them could do about it. His head must've taken quite the hit to be talking about all of this like it was perfectly normal. Takato sighed, "Okay, let me try explaining it like this: you remember the Digimon Movie?"

"Movies," Kenta corrected, "There were three of them. Adventure! Our War Game! And The Golden Digivolution!"

Juri had been unaware that digimon had three movies to its name. She knew about the show because the boys always talked about and the card game because they played it. But movies? She had no idea how big the franchise was. Takato nodded and went on, "Not in America. They mixed three of the movies together, making it one movie. Strung together by the thinnest of plot threads."

Kazu burst out laughing, "Are you kidding? Those movies had nothing to do with each other! Why would they do that?"

"Exactly!" Takato snapped his fingers, "It's sort of like that. By themselves, the movies make sense. All together, not so much. Especially when you think about it. Then it starts to make your head hurt. Only in this case, the movie is three worlds strung together that shouldn't have been. Maybe four."

Rika groaned and started massaging her head, a sentiment Juri shared as she tried to follow along. Only she felt more lost and confused than before. Takato must've noticed their confusion and offered, "Still not convinced? Then maybe this will help. It's our teacher...well, not Rika's. Unless I never noticed. Rika might hear it before the rest of you guys but once you hear it, the distortions will begin to become more obvious. You just need to concentrate."

"Wait, why her?" Kazu complained, "Why does she get to figure it out first?"

"Try to keep up, Kazu. It's like she said. The year is 2001," Takato explained with a pointed finger, "Now think about how that's weird. Remember the books? The autobiographical book about digimon by the twenty something year old author that kickstarted the franchise? The first one takes place in 1999, and its sequel is set in 2002. So he's in his twenties now, but was eight three years ago. And she was the first one of you guys to notice that. So she'll probably notice this too. Understand?"

"No," Kazu grunted, making Rika scoff. Takato sighed, "Never mind. Just…concentrate on my voice. Block everything else out. Our teacher's name. It's Nami Asaji."

"Yeah, we know," Kazu groaned, "We see her every day."

Takato put a finger to Kazu's lips to silence him, "You're just going to be all kinds of difficult today. You're not listening hard enough. Try again: Nami Asaji."

"I still just hear our teacher's name," Kenta repeated. Takato sighed again, "Let me try this one more time and really concentrate. Clear your mind. Listen only to what I'm saying."

Juri closed her eyes, trying her best to concentrate on what Takato was saying, " _KaNarimi KAasiayaji_."

Wait, why did it sound weird? It was like there were two voices talking at the same time. And it made her head hurt, "I heard something that time."

"I still just hear Nami Asaji," Terriermon replied. He looked her way and his expression became worried, "Hey are you okay? You look like you're about to have an aneurysm."

"Yeah, just a headache," she massaged her head. Was this what it was like for Takato? All the time? How was he staying upright? Then she noticed him staring, wide eyed and amused. Takato's smile widened as he excitedly added, "Okay. Didn't expect that. That's surprising. What did you hear Juri?"

"I don't know. Just a jumble of words," she answered with a frown. Takato approached her, placing both of his hands on her temples. Her headache went away and she a felt something she hadn't before. A calm serenity that put her at ease with everything. He looked her square in the eye, "Close your eyes Juri."

She had to admit it was embarrassing to have him this close to her, but she closed her eyes and listened, "Concentrate, Juri. You can do this. Listen: _Kari Kamiya_."

She heard it clearly that time. But before she could say anything, Rika blurted out, "Kari Kamiya? From the book? And the show? You expect me to believe your teacher is really Kari Kamiya? The lady we just passed outside?"

"What? Are you telling me you heard something different. Of course she's our teacher!" Kazu cried out, "Are we done saying Nami Asaji already?"

"Wait, you didn't hear that?" Kenta asked in disbelief, looking at Kazu like he was crazy, "He clearly said Kari Kamiya. There is a resemblance now that I think about it..."

"Wait, did you say Kari Kamiya?" Henry asked. Takato patted him on the back, "Alright, Henry. I figured you'd be next after Rika, but this works. I guess."

"That's what I said: Nami Asaji," Kazu frowned. How could he not hear it? Juri looked at Takato, "What's happening?"

Takato waved his hands around excitedly as she spoke, "I think Kazu still can't hear it. Maybe his brain can't process the information properly - side effect of multiple worlds sitting on each other. That's okay. The rest of you heard me, though. Maybe he's just slow?"

"I am not slow!" Kazu protested.

"So wait, if she's our teacher," Kenta began massaging his head like he was trying to make sense of things through the strongest headache imaginable, "How come we never noticed until now?"

"You couldn't," Takato snapped his fingers, spinning in place as went on to excitedly explain, "The thing about these multiple worlds sitting on top of each other is that reality is trying its hardest to make them mesh to avoid a total collapse. You guys would never be able to notice until the damage was too much. But for me, it's dizzying trying to keep track of two worlds occupying the same space, at the same time, with contradictory information, going two different ways. Don't worry though, no one else has noticed. And I figured starting with Kari would be the easiest way to help."

"All I hear is Nami Asaji, Nami Asaji, Nami Asaji," Kazu rolled his eyes, "Takato, if you've got a crush on the teacher, now's the time to say it."

Everyone laughed, surprised that Kazu was still struggling to keep up with them. However, another question began to plague Juri. It was about Takato. They'd been in the same school, in the same grade for a long time. So how could any of this be true? Was he also one of those things that was wrong. No, he said he was an Ancient or a Guardian. Then she remembered. How could she have forgotten? Takato disappeared a year ago. He vanished into thin air. How did she forget? Juri asked, "So...Takato...if that is you...I mean, you are Takato, right?"

"Wow, one more win for Juri," he smiled at her, "You are just full of surprises, today."

Then he paused, his mood appearing to sour, "No, I'm not. My name, my real name is The Digimon Tamer. I know you're going to be skeptical of that Renamon, which is fine. I don't know who Takato is or what happened to him. I guess I'm just...keeping his life warm for him while he's not around."

That hit Juri like a ton of bricks. She heard Renamon and Rika scoff, Kazu seeming confused, and noted the look of concern on the others' faces. Then Kenta added, "Wait...that's right. You went missing."

"What are you talking about? Takato's not missing, he's right here!" Kazu exasperatedly tried to explain to the rest of them. Kenta reminded them, "No, don't you remember? Last year! He went missing for like a month. Disappeared one day after school and nobody knew where he was. How did we forget that?"

"Side effect of the different worlds sitting on top of each other," Takato answered with a half smile, "It's easy to forget all the little things when they're not happening to you, especially when they're happening across several layers of reality. It's all pretty normal, actually. Well, not normal. It's wrong. And it's why my head is always fuzzy."

None of this was normal. None of it. And whatever was going on was going to kill them all. Maybe that was why Takato disappeared? So what were they supposed to do?

* * *

Rika couldn't believe what she was hearing and crossed her arms in disbelief. It seemed the others were just as uneasy with that information. And how couldn't they be? The goggle head, if he was telling the truth, was living someone else's life! She was about to call him out on it when Terriermon interrupted, "So do we just fight these Devas as they cross through? Because Mihiramon was tough and I'd hate to see who they send next."

"As long as it's not the monkey, we'll be fine," Takato tried to reassure them, but that somehow seemed to be the most nonsensical response he could give. He did add one other thing, something that seemed to lighten the mood, "There are others who can help us out. That's what they were supposed to do, anyway: Kari and the rest. Just gotta find them."

"You mean the digidestined, right?" Henry asked incredulously, looking at Terriermon, "Did you know about this?"

"Moumantai!" Terriermon replied. Renamon's ears perked up with excitement, "You mean the chosen children?"

"Of course. If digimon were real, what else wouldn't be?" Rika asked. Takato raised an eye to her, "Are you starting to believe me?"

Rika turned her head to avoid looking at him, "So where are they? How soon can we find them?"

"I have no idea. Aside from Kari and Mimi, I have no idea where the rest of them are," Takato answered and of course, Rika groaned, "Because of course you don't. Wait, Mimi?"

"Your mom," Takato answered. Rika blinked at that, "My mom? Goggle head, are you crazy? My mom's a total drama queen. There's no way she's a digidestined. Especially…Mimi."

Despite her protests, Rika slowly began to realize that it made too much sense - her mom's love of fashion, the fact that she remembered her dad being a computer nerd, and all the times she heard her mom called a different name. Takato put a hand on her shoulder and explained, "I know you don't like it Rika but it is the truth. That's why you were the first to notice all the weird things going on. I thought you would've noticed that too."

Rika slapped his hand away, recalling one reason that made no sense, "Lets assume I believe you. Why isn't my last name Izumi?"

"It is…well, it sort of is," Takato scratched his head, "But I noticed it the first time we went to your house. The sign in front said Makino. It also said Nonaka. And sometimes it said Izumi. Your life…your lives…are sitting on top of each other in a way that is forcing reality to compensate - it's mixing and matching as it needs to keep it consistent. Normally you wouldn't notice it. But you're living in that intersection - that's why you could notice all the little inconsistencies in the books and show. And I'm sure you've heard your mom be called Mimi sometimes, whether or not you want to admit it."

Rika didn't like what she was hearing. Her mom, the annoying fashion model and actress who was the complete opposite of her…was the digidestined Mimi! It felt like her entire world was crumbling around her. It couldn't be true. There was no way she and her mom had digimon in common! It just wasn't possible.

"There's one other thing," Takato interrupted, snapping her away from those troubling thoughts, "That card. The one you used to make Kyubimon digivolve. Where did you get that?"

"I don't know. It wasn't in my deck before," Rika explained, picking up her deck so that she could show it to them. She flipped through the deck several times in search of it, "That's weird. It's not here anymore."

"The card disappeared?" Takato asked, coming over to have a look. Rika handed the deck over for him to examine, "Yeah, none of these cards would make a digimon digivolve. Maybe it was a one time use?"

Rika tried racking her brain for an explanation to the strange card and could only think of one, "There was thus one guy. He bumped into me on the way here and scattered my deck. Maybe he planted it?"

"What kinda guy just carries a card around like that?" Henry asked. Rika didn't have an answer to that either.

* * *

Kari Kamiya continued into the darkness, moving her light in search of the source of that mysterious figure that dashed past. There was no doubt in her mind that it was a digimon and her mind raced at the possibility that it could be one of their long lost partners: Veemon? Gatomon? Who else was small, agile, and could use fire? After going in the direction it had gone for some time, she called out into the darkness, "Hello? Is anyone there? It's okay, I'm not going to hurt anyone. Hello?"

"What's with you humans and butting into my business when all I want is to be left alone?" a small imp wearing a red scarf asked, appearing beside her with his arms crossed. He raised his hand up to block the light and complained, "Watch it jerk. Didn't your momma mon ever teach you not to flash those things in people's eyes?"

"You're a digimon," she said, her heart skipping a beat in excitement. The little imp clapped his hands, "Wow, you're the first human to not run away screaming. And yous figured it out. Good job. Whad'ya want and how do I make yous go away?"

"I'm Kari. I'm a digidestined and I can help," she began explaining only to watch the digimon light a fire with his fingers and throw it at her feet, "BADABOOM! Listen toots. I dunno nothin' about no digidestin' or whatever. All I want is to be left alone. So beat it. Scram! Before I actually light something on fire."

Not to be deterred, she insisted, "I'm sure if we talk this out, we could help each other and-"

"BADABOOM!" He flung another ball of fire at her feet, "I said beat it! And don't lemme catch you snoopin' after me again, ya hear?"

Before she could get another word in edge wise, he leapt up into the trees and disappeared. There was no doubt in her mind now. Digimon were appearing in the their world. And their partners were still nowhere to be found. There was something going on in the Digital World. Something bad. And she dreaded not knowing what. She just hoped her partner and friends were okay.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Secrets have been answered but more questions are raised. Where did Rika get that card? What is the catalyst? And what does Yamaki have in plan for Kari) Find out all this and more in the next chapter of the Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out in two weeks on Friday May 3rd at 8 PM CDT. Let me know what you guys think in the reviews section. I try to reply as soon as I'm able. If you loved it, be sure to favorite and follow the story to keep up with all the latest updates. Now let's look at some previews for the next chapter:

As Rika made her way back home, she stopped just outside her home and called out to her partner, "Hey, Renamon!"

"Yes, Rika?" she appeared beside the gate into her home. She'd had plenty of time to think about this question after the useless talk with Takato, "Back when we first met, you called me Tamer. Was that because you thought I was this...Digimon Tamer person Takato is talking about?"

She noted Renamon's delayed response, "That is what I believed at the time. I thought you were The Digimon Tamer because you were the one who so many digimon appealed to. But I see now that I was mistaken. You are just an ordinary human like your peers - but that doesn't mean we aren't partners nor does it mean that I don't care about you."

Her answer hardly made Rika feel better. She didn't want to be a part of someone else's problem - whether it meant saving the Digital World or their world or whatever. There was one other thing bothering her, "How did you show up in my room that one night? You all just sort of appeared."

"That is difficult to answer. I felt a calling in the Digital World - an unseen force pulling me towards you. Before I knew it, I found myself in that place with those other digimon. I don't know how I got there. I simply was," Renamon answered, "Is something the matter?"

"Just a bad feeling," she replied quietly, "I should head in. Good night Renamon."


	14. Snake By A Train

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

 **Pre-Author's Notes:** So way back in the first chapter, I said I was going to try and keep this as much of an isolated story as possible. That is, I wanted it to be able to stand on its own two feet without relying too heavily on the canon of the previous stories. But because of what I wanted to do with the story, I realize it might have been hard to follow what was going on. At least, it was going to be very confusing. So I started reworking the story a few chapters back to help it make more sense. There's been no major divergence from the story I wanted to tell, I'm just trying to adjust the narrative to make it flow better and easier to understand. Hopefully the story won't be as confusing going forward. Let me know what you guys think!

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 14: Snake By A Train**

Rika made her way back home in silence, contemplating everything Takato or Tamer or whatever had told her. There was no way here mom was Mimi. No way her dad was Izzy! It just didn't make any sense! She would've noticed something like that before! She had noticed before, but she didn't want to believe it. But it brought another concern to her mind. One that she hadn't paid too much thought to since now. She stopped just outside her home and called out to her partner, "Hey, Renamon!"

"Yes, Rika?" she appeared beside the gate into her home. Rika hesitated, unsure she wanted to know the answer to this question. No, she needed to know. This was how she would find out. It was time to face the music, "Back when we first met, you called me Tamer. Was that because you thought I was this...Digimon Tamer person Takato is talking about?"

Renamon didn't answer right away and that made her nervous, "That is what I believed at the time. I thought you were The Digimon Tamer because you were the one who so many digimon appealed to. But I see now that I was mistaken. You are just an ordinary human like your peers - but that doesn't mean we aren't partners nor does it mean that I don't care about you."

Her answer hardly made Rika feel better. She didn't want to be a part of someone else's problem - whether it meant saving the Digital World or their world or whatever. There was one other thing bothering her, "How did you show up in my room that one night? You all just sort of appeared."

"That is difficult to answer. I felt a calling in the Digital World - an unseen force pulling me towards you. Before I knew it, I found myself in that place with those other digimon. I don't know how I got there. I simply was," Renamon answered, "Is something the matter?"

"Just a bad feeling," she replied quietly, "I should head in. Good night Renamon."

"Good night Rika," her partner bowed before disappearing to wherever she went when she wasn't around. As she got inside, she found her grandmother busy preparing dinner while her mom talked on the phone, "I can come by as soon as tomorrow. I'll be there. Okay, I'll talk to you then. Bye."

She tried to convince herself her mom was just taking another work call. Nothing more. But part of her couldn't help but wonder now if her mom really was the Mimi and if that phone call was from one of the other digidestined calling about last night.

* * *

Kari awoke the next morning to ready herself for another day teaching a bunch of kids who were obviously going to miss out on her lesson because they were too busy being kids. She loved teaching, she really did. But there were times when they made her want to pull her hair out. It drove her nuts. Especially since she warned her students not to wander the park at night, only to find them doing exactly that. But more than that - she'd found a digimon wondering the park late at night too. And that made her anxious to think about who or what else could've been in their world.

She readied herself a mug of coffee and some eggs for breakfast when someone knocked on her door. Half awake and not really caring for her appearance at the moment, she checked the peephole to find a man in a black business suit and glasses waiting for her on the other side. She latched the door chain to make sure they couldn't force their way in before cracking it open, "Hello?"

"Kari Kamiya?" He asked. Kari kept the chain latched, anxious that this man she'd never met knew her name. Sure her family name was on her mailbox but how did he know her given name. More specifically, how did he know her nickname, "Who are you?"'

"Mitsuo Yamaki. I'm with the Ministry of Defense. Is it alright if I come in?" he asked rather calmly. That was a definite no. She had no idea if this guy actually was with the ministry or not and she didn't care to find out. She didn't want anything to do with those government types. Not after what happened in France. Not after what she saw.

"Whatever you have to say, you can say it from the other side of the door," Kari replied sternly. The man seemed annoyed, but it was hard to tell with those sunglasses on his face. He reached into his coat pocket and she prepared to slam the door shut in case a gun was pulled only to see him produce a badge with an identification card. For the Ministry of Defense, "I'm sorry to alarm you but it is urgent that we speak. In private."

Those could've easily been forged and she didn't exactly want to talk to him anyway, "Whatever it is, I'm not interested."

"It's about the digimon," he said in a hushed tone. She didn't like that last word because it was an obvious ploy to get her attention. But part of her wondered if he had some way to get Gatomon - some way for her to see her partner again.

"Give me a minute," she said after thinking it over. She closed the door and took a moment to straight out her appearance. Then she made her way to her dresser to the kitchen to retrieve a knife, taking care to slip it into her sleeve so that he wouldn't see it. It was a small measure of defense in case he tried anything. After taking another few seconds to calm herself, she opened the door and let him in. He made his way inside quietly, observing the apartment while she slid the door shut. Everything about this guy made her uneasy as he began, "Thank you for letting me in. The ministry has a national security issue at stake and we-"

"Get to the part about digimon," she interrupted. Yamaki nodded, "That's right. I'm sure you've seen them on the news despite our best efforts to keep things under wraps. Someone like you should've been able to see through all our cover stories. Last night, one appeared inside the Metropolitan Building and nearly destroyed the whole building. Which brings us to you. After last night, we've seen fit to bring as many of you back together to-"

She already knew where this was going, "The answer's no. I'm not interested."

The man seemed genuinely unfazed by that statement and proceeded as if she hadn't said a thing, "-defend our country's interests in the event of further incursion from these creatures. You will be compensated for your-"

"Are you deaf? I'm not working for you," Kari repeated more sternly. Yamaki fell silent but stared at her for a long time. His expression only broke when a small frown appeared for a second before he continued, "You do understand that this is a national security issue, correct?"

"I know. And I also know how people like you respond when things like this happen," Kari pointed an accusing finger at him with one hand on her hip, "Kids! Shot at! By soldiers! I'm not going to be a part of that. If digimon are appearing, then I'll take care of it on my terms. And my terms aren't working with you. Now get out."

Yamaki's face remained impossible to read but he took the hint and made his way to the door. He stopped just before he walked out and calmly stated, "I don't know what you mean by soldiers shooting kids. But I do know what those things are capable of. You already know too. Our generation...our age group. It's the smallest age group going five years in either direction. I don't know what you remember. But I remember the Odaiba Incident. Count the names of the dead kids you're so worried about. I'll be back again in a week. I hope you'll have changed your mind by then."

Kari was glad to slam the door on the man once he was out. The nerve of him! But she couldn't deny his point. Kids had died. They died because of her. She had to hurry to school but she knew what she was going to use the lunch break for. She had calls to make...to as many of the others as she could.

* * *

Juri walked along the quiet sidewalk to school, pondering everything not-Takato had said the night before and wondering what exactly she could do. Obviously, she wouldn't tell anyone but she didn't like the idea of being a huge drain on the group by just sitting around and doing nothing while they were all risking their lives. She wanted to help out too! But how could she do that? She wasn't like them, she didn't have a partner or a digivice. So what else was there?

She supposed she could bring drinks and snacks. But that wasn't going to be particularly useful until the fight was over. Walking along, she stopped at the window to a game store and saw booster packs for that digimon card game they were always playing. Of course! She could provide these in the heat of a fight! What else was there? It would suck that she'd have to spend some of her allowance but she had no problem with that if she could use it to help out. Not right now though. She still had to get to class.

* * *

When the bell rang to let out school for the day, Henry hurriedly grabbed his bag and made his way down to Takato and Juri's classroom. He'd had all night to think about what not-Takato had said and, regardless of if any of it was true, the fact was that he and Terriermon were partners now. He had a responsibility to help as many people as he could and he had no intention of doing nothing while innocents were hurt. Especially if more of those Devas were going to be on the way.

He arrived to their classroom to see Kazu, Kenta, and Juri waiting outside the class as their classmates hurried home. Kazu complained, "Man, leave it to Takato to get into trouble again."

"Shouldn't we call him Tamer now?" Kenta asked quietly, although he was ignored by the others.

"What happened this time?" Henry asked, adjusting his backpack carefully. Kazu thumbed inside where their teacher was busy scolding Takato, drearily explaining, "The guy set off a smoke bomb in class for some reason. He had a bag full of 'em!"

"Where'd he even get that smoke bomb in the first place?" Kenta asked curiously, trying to peer back into the classroom. Juri shook her head, "Who knows. What's taking them so long? Last time she just had him write an apology letter. What do you suppose she's doing in there?"

"Maybe she's going to make him stay after class for the rest of the year and clean up by himself?" Kazu mused, only to be punched by Kenta, "Don't joke about that, man!"

Henry peered into the classroom while they kept talking. It was hard to miss now that he was looking at her - that teacher looked like an older Kari Kamiya. In fact, now that he was looking at the name plate over the classroom, he noticed the name kept...shifting. Changing. One second he would read it as Asaji, the next it would read Kamiya, and sometimes it would appear like a jumble between the two. It was still hard to believe that a digidestined had been a few steps away from him all this time.

* * *

Kari looked down at Takato with his open bag on her desk. Full of smoke bombs and baggies of what looked like day old bread. She massages her temple in confusion while trying it understand what would possess one of her students to even have this kind of thing. She wasn't even sure where to start with punishing him, on top of all the other stuff that was happening right now. But she couldn't let this slide - it was her responsibility as his teacher to make sure he was properly disciplined for this kind of behavior. Still, the annoying part came first. He had to explain himself and she prepared herself for whatever ridiculous answer he had, "So...what is your reason this time Takato?"

He looked up innocently enough as he began offering his justification, "Would you believe I'm trying to protect this world and another world from monsters with the help of some friends, some of whom are also monsters?"

She wasn't prepared for that answer. And with so many of his obvious lies in the past, she wasn't exactly sure how to accept that answer. Then again, with all the stories running on the news lately, she was sure he was just trying to get away with his prank by using one of the plots from TK's books as an excuse. But perhaps it was the familiarity of that made her second guess her usual compunction to just slam him over the head with the rule book, "What?"

"Yeah, I didn't think that would work," he frowned sheepishly, "It was for a prank that I was going to pull in the park. Sorry, it was me. I'm the one sneaking around the park at night causing all the problems. I'm sorry."

That lie was somehow less believable than the first. Especially between the kids she caught last night and the digimon. She groaned at the realization that he specifically might be involved in all of this. Still, she couldn't let him know that, "Takato, is this something from one of those digimon books and shows that you and your friends are so hooked on?"

"Would it be any less damning if I say no?" Takato asked, looking at her like he was trying to read her. She made it loud and clear through her grimace that it wasn't and she began, "Takato, I don't care why you brought it in - you can't have smoke bombs in school. And...look, what are you really up to?"

"Cleaning up a mess I think I helped make," he answered nonchalantly. Once again, Kari had no idea how to take that but a suspicion began to grown on her. One that made her uneasy. She asked calmly, "Takato...is there something you're not telling me?"

He looked up at her, scratching the back of his head nervously, "If I said digimon are real...would you believe me?"

"No," she said sternly to avoid suspicion. He nodded, "Didn't think so. So let's go with my second answer: I'm the trouble make responsible for all the problems at the park."

She wasn't going anywhere with this. And she still had other things she had to do. She massaged her forehead, "Look...just don't do it again. Now get out of here."

He nodded, zipping up his bag and heading for the door. Before he even walked out, he stopped and asked, "By the way, Miss Kamiya?"

Kari looked his way, half expecting him to be making some kind of mocking face at her. Instead he pointed at her brother's old coat hanging off her chair and asked, "Where'd you get that coat?"

"It's a memento from my brother," she answered calmly, "Why do you ask?"

"No reason. Bye!" he said, turning on his heels to leave the classroom. Kari thought about it for a minute and scratched her head. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks to the face. He had started wearing those damn yellow goggles of his. She didn't think much of it at the time but was it possible that...no. It couldn't have been? Could it? No, he was...but he said she may not recognize him the next time she saw him. But...no...unless...

There was only one way to be sure. She reached for her brother's old coat and threw it on, packing her work bag and quietly waiting for the students to leave. It would be bad if she was caught so she threw up the hood too to keep her face hidden. If her suspicions were right, the phone call would have to wait. Because it seemed the solution to all their problems was sitting in her classroom.

* * *

"So what did Miss Asaji...I mean Kamiya say, Takato...I mean, Tamer?" Juri asked as soon as he got out of the classroom, still struggling with all the right terminology. He shrugged, "Made me promise not to do it again and told me to get out. And just Takato is fine."

"Why'd you bring all of this stuff anyway?" Kazu asked, pointing at his bag. Takato frowned, "I was trying to see how much of this altered reality she was aware of. If I just flat out tell her, her gut instinct would be to ignore it as a form of self-preservation. Lower life forms don't like to accept things they don't understand. Especially if it'll fry their brains. No offense."

"None taken?" Henry asked more than said. Takato went on, "So I tried to present her with a strange scenario to see how she'd react. I didn't realize until after the fact that she may be so used to me doing so many weird things that this wouldn't surprise her. I'll need to rethink my approach. Speaking of...we probably shouldn't talk about this out loud. Park?"

"Park," they all said in agreement as they started their way out of the school building and towards the shed. Kazu cheerfully added, "Man, you must be really wearing her down if she's just making you promise not to do all this crazy stuff anymore."

Then he ran in front of the group so he could wag a finger at him, "Shame on you. Better hope she doesn't change her mind and call your not-parents."

"Don't make me think about that," Takato frowned, adjusting his backpack and asking, "So...have you guys made up your minds?"

"You bet and you better believe we're not sitting this out for anything, Takato," Kazu cheered excitedly, "We still haven't even got to see a real digimon fight! You can count us in with whatever stupid thing you've got going on."

"That's right. We may not have digimon, but don't count us out," Kazu added cheerfully. Juri nodded in solemn agreement, reaching into her pocket to produce a couple of booster packs, "I don't get how the game works but...I can still bring spare cards to all the fights. Anything to help!"

"What about you, Henry?" Takato looked over at the boy from the other class who nodded solemnly, "I'm still not sure."

"That sucks," Takato folded his arms, "Tomorrow then?"

"Tomorrow," Henry repeated with a nod. Juri turned her head, "Why tomorrow?"

Kazu slapped her back, "Don't you get it? Those crazy digimon could show up any minute to do who knows what! We need to be ready for them no matter what!"

Now it was Henry's turn to chime in, "Speaking of that, Mihiramon said he was after the Catalyst but I don't remember if you ever said: what's the Catalyst?"

Takato scratched his head again, his face looking like it was trying to remember but that only made him have to massage the side of his head, "It's an energy source...something to do with...a firewall. It's supposed to be able to...grant unbelievable power to...sorry, I'm having trouble getting my head straight."

"Headaches?" Juri asked sheepishly, "You could take an aspirin."

Takato waved it off quietly, "Doesn't help. But I think we'll know if another one shows up. Our digivices go crazy any time one of them tries so that's a good warning system."

"But if the digivices warn you, why bother with the patrol?" Juri pointed out. Kazu and Kenta jumped on that right away, although they looked more like they hadn't even considered that, "Hey, that's right! Why are we patrolling?"

Takato turned on his heel, walking backwards while still talking, "Because there are plenty of digimon we've run into who didn't set off the digivice. Which means it doesn't always detect them. I don't know if it just can't detect smaller ones, if some digimon are too weak to be detected, if they just showed up too far away, or if anything else is the reason. All I know is we need to be ready in case another one does show up. I mean...who's to say that Mihiramon was the first Deva to come through. There could be more already running around."

"Okay, so where should we start this patrol then?" Juri asked, noticing Takato suddenly start beaming proudly, "There's this old neighborhood called Highton View Terrace. If we go by the book series, that's where the most digimon show up. So I say we start there!"

"You're getting your information from the books," Kazu repeated quietly, sharing the disbelief the others had. Takato nodded, "Yeah, that's right. Why? Because if you're getting skeptical, Kari is our teacher."

"Well, you guys have fun with this. I need to get going," Henry answered, checking his watch before hurrying off to go meet with his dad.

"What should we tell Terriermon?" Juri shouted after him, realizing his partner while still with Guilmon.

"Moumantai!" Henry shouted back.

* * *

Rika sat in the subway with her mom, awaiting their train. As much as she hated it, her mom was dragging her off to another photoshoot. Part of her wondered if her mom actually thought bringing her to work would help them 'bond'. Because it wasn't working. And the fact that her mom kept trying to make it work was driving her up a wall. She hated modeling. Most of all, she hated having to wear all those frilly pink clothes in front of all those people. The fact that many of them said she looked cute that way also didn't help. But part of her also realized that this was another point in the favor of her mom being Mimi. As she recalled, Mimi went on to be a model for her friend in the books. If only she could remember the name of her mom's friend - then she'd know if the friend was the same person.

She was sure her mom was too busy on the phone to notice she was staring, rattling on about work, "We're waiting for the train. We'll be there in about ten minutes, how does that sound? Sure, and then we can get ready for the shoot. Oh definitely! Ruki will love the new clothes! Oh, I'm sure. Because I'm her mother, that's why."

Rika rolled her eyes and began shuffling through her digimon cards, examining each one carefully to make sure she understood what each did. Then her attention was caught by her digivice going off at loud intervals. Before she could even reach for it, she noticed a thick fog roll into the subway station from one end of the tunnel, "Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

She stepped towards the platform, noticing her mother didn't even seem to care that she had gotten off the bench and joined everyone else in the station now peering down the tunnel at the oncoming fog where two red lights slowly made their way closer. Then faster. And it hissed. Rika jumped back just as a giant silver cobra slithered past at full speed. Her jaw fell open in disbelief. A digimon here in the Shinjuku subway station. At rush hour. She could hear her mother panicking behind her, "What the hell was that? Ruki! Ruki? RUKI!?"

Her mom started panicking, looking for her in the crowd. Oh, now she cared. She groaned and hurriedly leapt onto the tracks, chasing after the serpent. Her mom could panic a little longer. Maybe then she'd stop thinking about fashion for a few minutes to think about her. Once she was far enough way from the station, she quietly called out, "Renamon?"

"I'm here, Rika. Or should I say Ruki?" her partner said from behind her, making her jump. Rika wanted to smack her for using that name but they had bigger fish to fry, "We need to get after that digimon. Do you think you can digivolve again?"

Renamon took a battle stance and declared, "I can try. Renamon! Digivolve to!"

Nothing happened. That was just her luck. Rika would have to think of something else and she had plenty of time to do that while they chased after the thing, "Damn! Don't worry. I'll think of something."

* * *

"Again!" Henry's sensei called out. He closed his eyes, took a deep breathe, and repeated the motions he'd performed a dozen times. One foot forward, then another, arms up, fist forward, keeping balance at all times. When he reached his finishing step, he looked up at his sensei and awaited his judgment. He was sure he got the motions right this time and that he'd kept good form. Until he felt a sweep kick strike his leg - knocking him flat on his back. His sensei sighed, "You're still keeping all your weight on one leg. It's far too easy to knock you over."

"I'm sorry, Hida-sensei," he apologized. Cody Hida - his martial arts teacher. By some miracle, the guy was a master of kendo, tai chi, karate, and aikido while also finding time to be a lawyer. And somewhere along the lines, he and his dad became friends - bonding over their mutual enjoyment of tai chi. Something his dad was hoping he would start to enjoy. In all fairness, most days it felt more like a chore than a hobby for fun. He took Hida-sensei's hand and bowed, "Thank you."

"Go take a rest," he answered, calling out the next student. Henry joined his father who'd been watching with a small smile from the side lines, "You still favor the left."

"I'm trying to unlearn a bad habit," Henry answered, watching Hida-sensei guide another student through the same set of motions. His dad asked, "You've been a little distracted lately, Henry. Is something the matter? It's not about that girl, was it?"

Henry hated how his dad was good at reading things like that. But he didn't want to tell him the truth. The real truth about the digimon. What was he supposed to say? Digimon are real, there's an army of them coming, and now he and some kids from school are the only ones who could stop it. Yeah, that'd go over well. His dad patted his head, "If you're frustrated about that technique, I wouldn't worry about it. It took me a while to learn the final stance properly."

"It's not that dad," Henry frowned, "I was just thinking…well, have you ever been in a position you didn't want to be in? Like...you knew what you had to do, but you didn't want to do it? Or...um...well, that you didn't have to?"

His dad didn't answer, suddenly finding the training a lot more interesting than anything else. After a long pause, he answered, "Yes, I did. In the end, the decision was made for me. There are times where I think about what could've been. But there's also the chance that your mother and I wouldn't be together. And I don't regret that for a second."

* * *

Juri watched from the side as Takato began feeding Terriermon and Guilmon bread with jam and peanut butter. Guilmon devoured the food like it wasn't going to disappear, but Terriermon ate more slowly. Juri patter his head and asked, "What's wrong, Terriermon?"

"Just wondering where Henry is," he admitted quietly, "And wondering why he's not here."

Kazu threw his arms behind his head and answered, "He had Tai Chi practice. If you ask me, he just chickened our and didn't want anything to do with this."

"Don't listen to him. He still can't hear Miss Kamiya's name," Kenta pointed out. Kazu rolled his eyes, "If you guys don't stop with that Miss Asaji thing, I'm going to deck someone."

Terriermon set down his loaf of bread, "I wanna say I'm surprised. For some reason, he just doesn't have his heart in fighting for some reason. He says it's because he doesn't want to see anyone get hurt."

"He's a pacifist," Takato spoke up quietly, handing more bread from his bag to Guilmon, "Makes sense. He probably doesn't want to cause any one harm. I don't either."

Terriermon's frown stayed on his face, "Is that's supposed to make me feel better?"

"Just making an observation. Give him time. He'll figure it out. Besides," Takato turned to look Terriermon in the eye, "Moumantai."

The little digimon's ears perked up and he returned to eating his bread. It was a relief to see the little guy smile again, especially eating like he normally would. Just as Takato went to get him another slice of bread, Guilmon peered into the bag and retrieved a smoke bomb, "What's that, Takatomon? Is it food?"

"These are smoke bombs!" Takato said cheerily, holding up the bag for all of them to see. Kazu asked, "So why did you bring all that to school anyway? I know you said to test Miss Asaji but that can't have been the only reason."

"We can use these when we have to fight more strong digimon like Mihiramon," Takato answered knowledgeably, "Throw them to make distractions, even cover an escape if we need to get away. Because the last thing we need is to get stuck in a fight like we did with Mihiramon."

As he spoke, Juri noticed Guilmon grab one of the smoke bombs from out of the bag and give it a sniff. Kazu and Kenta were so busy listening to Takato explain that they hadn't even noticed. And before Juri could even try to warn them-

BAMF!

Guilmon threw it in his mouth and took a bite, coughing and gagging as the white smoke poured out of his mouth, "EW! Nasty! It doesn't taste like bread! Water! I need water!"

Terriermon giggled at Guilmon's mistake, even as smoke filled the shed. Memories filled Juri's mind of earlier that day, recalling how the entire class had to run outside in a panic when one of these went off earlier. This was no different as she, Kazu and Kenta hurried outside to get clear of the smoke filling the shed. Terriermon trotted outside casually with Takato just behind him trying to drag a flailing Guilmon. Then Takato groaned, "Guilmon! You're not supposed to eat them!"

"They looked better than they tasted," the red digimon whined, "It's not my fault! Takatomon!"

As Takato helped the digimon with a bottle of water, his digivice went off like a loud fire alarm. Takato threw his goggles on and inspected his digivice, "It's another one: a snake. Oh, that's not good. It says it's moving towards us. Everyone get clear!"

They all scattered in different directions and waited, only to see nothing but smoke billowing out of the shed. Juri looked from the direction Takato point to him, wondering what was taking so long, "Where is it?"

"That's weird. It says it passed us," Takato said, pointing in the opposite direction, "And that it's...still going."

"But there's nothing there," Kazu pointed out, "Your digivice is on the fritz! Give it a couple of good hits and it'll be back to working in no time!"

"I don't think that's the problem," Kenta pointed out, peering over Takato's shoulder to look at the screen, "Remember last night? The digivice only pointed in the direction of the monster, but it was several stories in the air."

"There's nothing up there, doofus," Kazu said, scanning the skies. But Juri was sure she understood what Kenta was trying to say. It wasn't above them. It was beneath them. She shook Takato and pointed at the ground, "What about below us? The subway!"

"Oh. Oh boy. Crap," Takato spat out, running towards the stairs, stopping and running back into the shed. He came back out with the box for his partner and his backpack, throwing the box over Guilmon and stating, "We're going to find the nearest subway entrance. Kazu, come with me, I'll need your help. Kenta! Juri! Can you guys go get Henry? We'll need his help!"

"On it," Juri nodded, happy to helpful in some way. She scooped up Terriermon and hurried off with Kenta, hearing Takato say, "Kazu, take some smoke bombs. He moves fast so we'll need to move even quicker if we want to stay one step ahead of this guy."

"Got it!"

* * *

Calumon hopped along the subway platform, amused by the various tall humans going about their day in such a rush. A few of them stopped to look at him, mistaking him for a rabbit and trying to pick him up before he ran away. Some even chased after but he always lost them in the crowds. The humans could be so odd at times. They all looked like they were in such a rush to go wherever they were heading, but none of them looked like they were having fun. They looked miserable.

It just didn't make sense to the little digimon. Why bother doing something if you hated doing it? He just couldn't understand them.

It didn't help when they all started screaming at the top of their lungs and running in one direction. That only affirmed to him that they were strange. They ran as fast and as far as they could away from something, but Calumon could hardly see what with all the legs running past him. One even kicked him over before he had a chance to ask why they were all screaming. He just rolled along until he came to a stop by one of the soda machines the humans loved and hid behind it to get out of the way of the mad panic.

Staring through the crowds, he finally got an idea why. There was a large, pale serpent moving through the subway station and hissing at everything in sight. Maybe that was why they were so freaked out. And maybe he should hide for a minute.

* * *

Henry came out of the locker room dressed in his casual clothes, just a bit ahead of his dad. His sensei was already bidding the remaining students farewell as they left. His sensei had always been so willing to help his students whenever they were in trouble. Maybe he could ask him for advice on this? Especially since his dad hadn't exactly given the most helpful advice. He looked back over his shoulder before approaching his sensei - he didn't want his dad to hear about any of this. He wanted to wait until all the others had left, but it didn't matter because his sensei had already noticed him, "Is something the matter, Henry?"

"Sensei, I wanted to ask you a question, if that's alright. If…you found yourself in a position that you didn't want to be in…and you knew what you had to do but it was something you didn't want to do, what would you do?" Henry began. He probably sounded like a stupid little kid for asking that question. Especially asking it that way. To his amazement, his sensei was surprisingly understanding about it, "I'd probably ask what brought this up Henry? Is something the matter?"

Henry's mind raced, trying to come up with an answer to his remark, "I was just thinking, sensei. You know the digimon show right? What if it were all real? They'd be dangerous, wouldn't they? But what if it was in your power to help stop it? And you were the only one who could? Would you stop it. Even if you didn't want to fight…or see anyone you care about get hurt?"

His sensei closed his eyes. He was expecting a lecture about being a delusional little kid, not that he could blame his sensei for it. He probably sounded insane right now. But his sensei continued to surprise, "First, I'd try to remember that digimon are living, breathing creatures with their own wants and needs. They have hopes, fears, and goals. Second of all, I'd hope they could be reasoned with but I'd try to remember that more harm can come from inaction than actual action."

"What?" Henry asked, unsure of that answer. His sensei scratched his head and chuckled, "I suppose it would be hard to wrap your head around. Let me try explaining it like this: if it were in your power to help someone else, then doing nothing would be worse than to do something if it wasn't in your power. You may not want to see anyone get hurt, but would you be more comfortable watching them get hurt anyway? Your decision to do nothing, may result in harm to the people you care about anyway. In the end, the intention is what's important. Do you understand?"

"Not really," Henry shook his head, still trying to make heads or tails of what he was saying. His sensei laughed, "I'm sorry, I've always been better at being contemplative than explaining moral quandaries like this. Let me borrow a phrase from a comic book: with great power comes great responsibility."

"What?" Henry repeated flatly. What did that even mean?

"Henry!"

Juri and Kenta came running up to the dojo entrance, panting for breath as they stopped. Henry was surprised to see them here, especially since he didn't think they knew where his dojo was. And even more surprising was Terriermon in Juri's arms, looking jostled but trying his hardest to pretend to be a doll. Juri looked up first and exclaimed, "Thank goodness we found you."

Kenta whispered in his ear, or tried to as he heaved for breath between words, "Digimon. Subway. Help."

"Crap," Henry said aloud, realizing the decision was going to be made for him whether he liked it or not. Then it occurred to him he probably shouldn't have sworn in front of his sensei. He bowed to his teacher, "I'm sorry sensei. I have to go."

"I'm sure you do," he nodded with a smile, staring at Terriermon curiously. Henry nervously hoped his sensei wasn't a fan of digimon, or at least wasn't trying to piece together anything he'd said. He felt bad for ditching his dad since he was still wasn't out of the lockers but he needed to make his excuses quick, "Could you tell my dad Im sorry but I had to leave early?"

"I'll be sure to tell him. Now get going," his sensei nodded towards the door.

* * *

Rika and Renamon caught up the giant serpent in time to see it slithering out onto a large terminal station. People fled in a panic to escape the monstrosity slithering onto the platform, coiling on itself and hissing, "Where isssssss he? Mihiramon, you incompetent…you were ssssssupposssssed to herald ussssss. Where did you go?"

It knew Mihiramon. Was this another one of the Devas? If it was, they weren't going to stand a chance alone. But she couldn't go find the others without leaving this thing by itself. And then who knew what it was going to do. It went against every instinct she had but they were going to have to face it alone. She whispered, "Can you digivolve Renamon?"

"I can try...hurgh," Renamon made a noise like she was constipated before grunting, "It's not working. Do you have any other plans?"

"Just one," Rika ran behind a pillar and opened up her card holder to examine her deck. But she had nothing that would be useful in a straight fight with this new digimon - speed wouldn't do much good in such an enclosed space, and a strength boost would do nothing to close the difference between them. Accuracy maybe? Maybe an item that Renamon could use? No. Without digivolving to the champion form, there was just too much of a gap.

"I know you're here, human," the serpent hissed, "I can...sssssssmell you and your friend. I hunger."

"Rika, run!" Renamon called out in a panic. It was too late. Despite his size, the serpent moved surprisingly fast and had already coiled around her, leering down at her from above. Rika pressed against the pillar, realizing her last moments may be the smell of this things breath. Thankfully, Renamon charged in and fired a barrage of diamonds, "Diamond Storm!"

The attack did nothing, and the snake seemed to just shake the attack off. Scared for her life, Rika stepped back from the ever enclosing mouth until there was a loud pop and smoke. Rika covered her mouth and nose, watching the serpent hiss angrily before it retreated away. Then Renamon appeared, took her arms, and pulled her to safety through the smoke, "Are you okay, Rika?"

"I'm fine," Rika coughed, feeling the smoke burn her throat, "Did you do that?"

"HEY! SAN…SAN...what was it? Forget it. HEY! SANDY! OVER HERE!?"

That was the goggle head's voice. What was normally contempt was instead replaced with relief.

"That thing's name is Sandy?"

And then it became annoyance. It was Takato and his friend Kazu, standing at the stairs as with Guilmon charged straight in for a fight. The serpent hissed at them, "I am SSSSSSSandiramon, and you will tremble at my power human. Who are you to addresssssss me assss anything elssse?"

"I dunno, I think Sandy works better," Kazu chuckled, "EAT THIS!"

He lobbed another smoke bomb at the serpent, blinding it but also giving Renamon the opening she needed to pull Rika to their side on the platform. Rika scowled at that, "What do you think you're doing!? Are you trying to make him angrier? What took you so long any way?"

"It took us a while to realize it was underground, and even longer to find a subway entrance," Takato answered sheepishly. There wasn't any more time to berate him though, as Sandiramon emerged through the smoke with his mouth wide open. Everyone leapt out of the way of its massive maw in time for it to crash head first into the subway wall, shaking the entire structure in the process. Kazu pointed out, "Maybe we shouldn't fight this thing in the subway tunnel? It'll come crashing down of us if it's not careful!"

"Kazu, you genius!" Takato shouted ecstatically, grabbing the boy by the face and pulling it alarmingly close to his own. Rika looked away in sickened disgust but she could tell what was happening. Especially when Kazu blurted out, "DUDE! WHAT THE HELL!?"

"What? Is that weird?" Takato asked sheepishly as Kazu berated, "Yeah! Don't pull any of that girly stuff on me!"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Rika turned on him angrily, noting Kazu's face shifting from disgust to absolute terror. He stammered, "I'm just saying, that he's acting weird! You're acting more like a guy than he is and he's not- why are you walking this way? Please don't."

Rika made sure she kicked him as hard as he could between the legs, taking great joy in watching him fall over backwards on the ground. Takato immediately covered himself and said, "I'm glad you call me names instead."

"Are you quite done, humanssss?" Sandiramon hissed, reminding all of them that he was still present. Takato frowned, "Oh right, you're still here. Right...um...anyone have a plan?"

"I have one: eat you, digest, and then go find Mihiramon," Sandiramon answered. Rika cursed her luck, wondering what they should do next and realizing she didn't have any. Not without Renamon able to digivolve. This didn't stop Takato from running his mouth though, "Sorry to burst your bubble but Mihiramon's gone."

"Why would you tell him that?" Rika snapped angrily, not wanting to know what Sandiramon was thinking now. Then Takato managed to bungle his way into making it worse, "I thought you'd like to brag about how you did it."

"WHY WOULD YOU TELL HIM _THAT_!?" Rika became even angrier, trying to ignore the violent roaring hiss that Sandiramon had just made in their direction. She wanted to throttle this kid more than Kazu at that moment, shaking him by the collar of his hoodie, "What's your plan!? To get him to eat me?"

"I wanted to make him angry," Takato said, looking over at the giant hissing digimon just as it prepared to strike. He readied another smoke bomb in his hand and winked at her, "RUN!"

Rika noticed Sandiramon about to strike and let go of Takato. He dropped the smoke bomb and they scattered in different directions. Rika stuck close to Renamon so that they wouldn't get separated, following her back out onto the tracks and asking, "What is that goggle head thinking?"

As the smoke cleared, she could see the dent Sandiramon had made in the wall of the platform and the cracks on one of the pillars. No. He couldn't be that stupid. He wanted to bring the station down on top of the giant snake. The idea was genius, sure - they couldn't out power Sandiramon so this could work. There was the just a tiny problem in the form of they were stuck in the subway with Sandiramon! And bringing the subway down would probably open up a giant sink hole in the city above. She shouted, "GOGGLE HEAD! ARE YOU TRYING TO GET EVERYONE KILLED!?"

"DO YOU HAVE A BETTER PLAN!?" Takato's voice echoed back. She could vaguely make out his outline throwing another smoke bomb and a flash of red light illuminated the smoke, "PYRO SPHERE!"

All she could make out now were flashes of the outline of Sandiramon. Then another voice called out. Henry's voice, "We're here! Sorry we're late!"

"We hurried as fast as we could!" Juri's voice added.

"It's crazy out there! We had to sneak past cops just to get in here!" Kenta's voice joined them.

Oh no. They were running straight into the mess that the goggle head had just made. And there was no way to warn them of the danger they were in. Rika shouted, "GUYS! BE CAREFUL!"

Then Terriermon's voice shouted, "Careful of wha-AAAAGGGHHH! THAT IS A BIG SNAKE!"

"GUYS! LOOK OUT!"

There was too much smoke. Rika couldn't see clearly any more. All she could see was the vague outlines through flashes of red light. She grunted, "Renamon! You have to help them! Get Juri and the dweeb out of there!"

"Right," Renamon was about to charge into the smoke but stopped, "Which one's the dweeb?"

Rika shook her head, "Does it matter? They both suck! Just get them out of there!"

"Got it!" Renamon disappeared into the smoke and ran off to rescue the others. It was impossible to see through the smoke but then she saw a bright flash of light mixed into the smoke. The light was so blinding that Rika had to close her eyes, but she couldn't miss the cries of their digimon.

"Renamon! Digivolve to! Kyubimon!"

"Guilmon! Digivolve to! Growlmon!"

"Terriermon! Digivolve to! Gargomon!"

Their digimon digivolved? How? She hadn't done anything...but it'd just happened. But there was no denying what she saw when the smoke cleared. All three of their digimon were now at the champion level. But there was something else - something small scurrying away from the fight. She rubbed her eyes to make sure she hadn't imagined it but something small scampered off into the darkness of the tunnel. She blinked, "Was that Calumon?"

"RIKA!" Kuyubimon shouted, now carrying Juri, Kazu, and Kenta on her back, "Stay safe! I'll be back in a moment."

She disappeared up the stairs and out of the subway station, leaving her with Sandiramon. Unfortunately, the serpent didn't see Kyubimon disappear up the steps and instead charged her. Rika yelped and dove out of the way, hitting the nearby railroad tracks and groaning even harder. It hurt, but it was nowhere near as bad as having to be in front of that thing's fangs. She picked herself up and ran through the smoke, seeing Gargomon and a hunched over Growlmon run past. Somewhere in the thick of it, Takato shouted, "GUYS! TAKE OUT THE SUPPORT COLUMNS!"

Still with that plan? He had to be crazy. There was no other explanation. Gunfire from Gargomon and fire from Growlmon erupted behind her as she limped her way through the smoke. Debris fell all around her: light fixtures, pieces of tiles and cement, and even dirt as the ceiling started to give under the weight. She hurried to get out of the way and rejoined with Henry and Takato. Henry gave her a hand to help her keep steady and asked, "What exactly is he doing?"

"The idiot wants to bring the entire subway tunnel down on top of us!" Rika explained angrily just as she heard Sandiramon hiss again through the fog. Takato lopped another smoke bomb straight into the station, clouding the fight even further and then silence followed by foot steps. Kyubimon galloped out of the smoke and stopped beside them, "I'm glad you're alright."

"Where are the others?" Henry asked anxiously and Kyubimon answered, "I took them out of the subway. What now?"

"This," Takato said, walking ahead of the group and shouting into the smoke, "Growlmon! Gargomon! Come back!"

More footsteps. Rika felt Henry tense up as he turned like he was getting ready to run when their partners emerged through the smoke. Growlmon whined, "Takatomon, it's too hard to move in here."

"Hang in there, and take out this pillar on my mark," he gestured towards the pillar beside him. The smoke was clearing now and Sandiramon was just ahead of him. He hissed, "I tire of thesssssse gamessss, humansssss. You will pay for your crimessssss againsssssssst Mihiramon. Sssurrender now or sssuffer my wrath."

Takato interrupted its warning, "First things first: Why are you looking for the Catalyst in this world? It should be in the Digital World at all times but you're looking for it here. Why? Second, and this is important, tell the other Devas to stop attacking everything as soon as you come through. It's not helping. We can help but first you need to stop-"

"THE DEVASSS DO NOT TAKE ORDERSSS FROM YOU!"

"-attacking everything you see when you show up. It's freaking people out. Also, don't interrupt me. It's rude," Takato finished with folded arms. Sandiramon paused, examining Takato carefully, "Who are you?"

"The Digimon Tamer," Takato paused as he scratched his head, "But I guess you can call me Takato. The point is I'm a Guardian. Or an Ancient if you prefer. I want to know what's going on in the Digital World."

"The Guardiansss of Dessstiny are a dead race, human. Dusssty politicianssss from a bygone era. Do not pretend to be one. We digimon mussst protect ourssselvesss. And humansss needn't concern themssselvesss with our affairsss," Sandiramon hissed, "You've been a nuisssance enough. Now you die."

"I'm warning you, Sandy!" Takato said with a pointed finger, "I don't want to destroy you but I will if I have to. And I really don't want to. We want to help. We can. Let us. But first tell us what's going on!"

"DIE!" Sandiramon roared, flying at them.

"Growlmon!" Takato shouted. On command, Growlmon broke the last pillar and the subway shook. Sandiramon stopped in its tracks, looking up in time to see a large chunk of ceiling come crashing down on top of it, along with more rubble and dirt. They didn't stay to see all of it though as they retreated away into the subway tunnel to get away from the collapsing debris.

Rika couldn't believe it. The goggle head actually did it. Worse, he probably did so much worse to everything above. She turned on him and shouted, "What were you doing, goggle-"

She paused when she noticed the defeated look in his eyes; a familiar face she'd only ever seen in her mom. Some kind of regret that he was trying his damnedest not to show to anyone. He looked at her and said, "I didn't want to do it. I wanted to reason with him. I..."

"Well that killed the mood," Gargomon commented, "Now what?"

"Takatomon, I'm hungry," Growlmon whimpered. Takato kicked some dirt under his shoe and answered, "Yeah, you guys probably worked up an appetite. Mom and dad throw out all the old bread that didn't sell today. I'll grab it and you guys can help yourselves."

"YAY!" Growlmon cheered excitedly, his voice echoing down the tunnel. As they all turned to leave, Gargomon commented, "So it's just stale bread?"

"Better than nothing," Henry answered, pointing ahead of the subway tunnel, "Come on. The next station is a mile that way."

* * *

Kari felt her heart skip a beat in delighted surprise as she looked on from the other end of the collapsed tunnel. The last thing she saw before the tunnel collapsed was another large digimon hissing at something through the smoke. But there was no mistaking that in the confusion, she'd heard the words Ancient and Tamer. Short for Digimon Tamer. What else could it mean?

She wanted to believe that she wasn't mishearing. That her brother was back. But she couldn't just go off hunches or echoing voices in the tunnel. She needed more concrete evidence. She sighed and turned to walk back the way she came, intent on keeping an eye on her most troublesome student in the future. Just the thought that her brother might've been back sparked something she hadn't felt in a long time. A light hearted feeling.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Two Devas down, lord knows how many more to go! Can they continue their fight or will they be over run by the Devas? Is Kari realizing who Takato is? And just what is going on in the Digital World? Find out all this and more on the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out next week at 8 PM CDT. If you loved it show your support by favoriting the story and let me know what you guys think in the reviews section! I try to reply as soon as I can. And hey, don't forget to follow to keep up with the latest updates! That's all for now! Let's look at previews for the next chapter!

"You want to smuggle Guilmon onto the school field trip. I'm not asking, I'm repeating it back to you because I want to be sure you hear how crazy that sounds."

"How hard could it be?" Juri asked, turning head towards Kazu and Kenta who simultaneously answered, "VERY!"

Kazu added, "Maybe you haven't noticed, but he's a giant dinosaur. He's not going to be easy to disguise. And it's not like we can just put him inside one of the boxes. Everyone's going to ask what we're doing with a box that big!"

"Not if we sneak him in on a bag," Juri said with a great big smile on her face.


	15. Rooster's Come to Roost

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 15: Rooster's Come to Roost**

Sora finished stitching the last bit of fabric together and took a step back to see her design with a smile, relieved to see it all coming together. Now was a good time to take a break, so she stepped out of her office to make some coffee and maybe check her emails before getting back to it. As soon as she got out into the kitchen, she heard the front door open and saw her husband come in - Yamato Ishida. Without a word, he came right up to her and gave her a long impassioned kiss, "I missed you."

"I missed you too," she said back, "Any luck?"

"Nothing. Ken's still trying to figure out the password to TK's laptop. Other than that, nothing. And there's been less luck finding Izzy," he answered. She nodded understandingly and guided him into the kitchen, "Well, I just got some coffee going. Have a seat and we can talk about it."

Sora examined her husband as he took several long gulps from his coffee, wondering if he'd ever find his brother or Izzy. Once he seemed to have collected himself, he sighed, "I just…I just wish I could understand what was going through his head before he disappeared. He became so…reclusive. He was always the introspective type but he never shied away from going out. I hope he's alright."

Sora placed her hand on his to try and calm him down, hoping she could reach her husband if she held his hand long enough. She quietly added, "We'll find him, Matt."

He smiled at her, his tired eyes sparkling like the first time they went on a date. The mood was interrupted only by a sudden knock at the door. She let herself hold his hand a little longer before she went to the door and saw Kari through the peep hole, "It's Kari!"

"Kari?" he repeated as she opened the door to let the younger woman in, "Kari! What're you doing here?"

She seemed hassled, covered in a fine layer of dust that she tried to wipe off. Weirder was the fact that she was wearing her brother's jacket again. She frantically explained, "I'm sorry, Sora. I just didn't know who else to tell! I mean, what if it's true? What if he's back? It can't be real!"

"Kari, calm down," she said, pressing a finger to her lips and adding, "Take a deep breath and calmly tell us whatever you need to tell us!"

Kari nodded, taking a few deep breaths before going on, "I think Ta...I mean The Digimon Tamer is back. I'm not one hundred percent sure yet."

Sora didn't expect to hear that and looked at Matt skeptically. His expression soured at the name and he got up out of the kitchen to ask, "What gave you this idea Kari?"

Kari started talking excitedly again, "One of my students did something weird today in school, so I followed him after classes let out. He met up with a bunch of friends and went to the park, nothing too weird about that. Until, and I'm not sure because of all the smoke, but I think I found him with a digimon. So I followed them again as they ran off and they started fighting another digimon! It's on the news now! The subway crash."

Sora vaguely remembered something about a crash in the subway but was skeptical of its connection. She guided Kari into the kitchen and poured her a cup of coffee, hoping it would settle her nerves a little. After a few drinks, Sora asked, "Kari, are you sure about this? No one's seen a digimon in a long time. Not since our partners disappeared."

Kari nodded quietly before adding, "I know it sounds crazy, but maybe it's all connected. I'm going to keep an eye on the student for now until I'm sure but the timing can't be a coincidence. Takeru disappears on the same day as our digimon, and suddenly I get a students who acts weird and is running around with what looks like digimon. So either these kids are a generation xerox of us and Tamer is back, or Tamer is one of those kids. Like I said, I'm not entirely sure. But I had to tell someone and you guys were the first ones that came to mind."

Both Matt and Sora looked at each other anxiously. Was it true? Was Tamer back? And if he was, had more kids just been recruited into whatever chaos was going on in the Digital World?

"There's one other thing," Kari added, "I don't know if you've run into him yet but some government agent guy came by my apartment today. He said he was working for the Ministry of Defense, and he tried to recruit me into working for him."

"He wasn't like those guys in France, was he?" Matt asked, reminding her of their world trip around the world. Kari nodded, "I don't know. But I know I'm not going to let him anywhere near my students and I'm not going to work for him."

Sora examined her carefully, noting a certain spark in Kari's eyes that hadn't been there in a while. Whatever Kari saw, Sora couldn't help but think they were closer to getting their partner's back than before. She got up to retrieve her D-Terminal from her office and began typing away on it. Perhaps it was time for a long overdue team meeting.

* * *

Yamaki hated getting called to meetings at the Minister of Defense's Office. Especially when the Prime Minister of Japan had to be present. Usually, that meant he was going to be reprimanded for something that someone else caused. Which made his headache all the worse when he arrived to see the Prime Minister watching the news on a computer screen. The headline everyone was talking about the accident on the subway. Another screen showed grainy footage of a snake monster rampaging through a subway station that was taken from a security camera.

The Minister of Defense looked at Yamaki with a death glare, something he was able to ignore as the Prime Minister turned to face him, "I hope you're organization has a handle on this Yamaki."

"Cover story is already in place," Yamaki answered as the news reporter answered, "The official statement from investigators is a train derailment that left several injured and caused a station collapse in Shinjuku. Witnesses reporting a giant snake are believed to be suffering from an acute case of post traumatic stress disorder, a condition affecting brain function following a suitably traumatic event. When asked about the footage, officials have stated no snake has been seen among the rubble at the station, only parts of the damaged train. A body was recovered, believed to be the driver. Thankfully, the train was empty at the time of its derailment. This leads to our current issue: are our public transportation representatives overworked and could this happen again?"

Yamaki shot a dirty smile at the Minister of Defense, making sure the Prime Minister didn't see it. The Prime Minister sighed and massaged his temple, "I heard about what happened with the Juggernaut program. How long will it take to get back online?"

"We're not sure," Yamaki admitted, "The lead programmer is still out of action following the explosion in our headquarters, the building is still far from operating at full capacity as repairs are still underway to get vital systems back online. I'm coordinating some of our agents now to track down a team of people I think can help facilitate our operations but it's slow going. Most of our intel on them is either out dated or leads to dead ends."

"This team. Can they get the job done?" the Defense Minister asked. Yamaki nodded silently, "I believe that if we can find them and convince them to join us, half can help fill in the hole left by our lead programmer for the Juggernaut Program, the other half can act as a force multiplier for our field operations. The hard part won't be finding them though, it'll be convincing them to work with us."

"Why wouldn't they?" the Prime Minster asked curiously, leaning in more intently as he added, "This is a matter of national security and there are lives at stake. Surely these people would feel the need to cooperate with us since we're trying to achieve the same goal."

"It's not that simple," Yamaki answered, readying himself for what was sure to be a long meeting.

* * *

A week passed by without another incident, which was good because it meant digimon were no longer passing through to the Real World. She had feared the worst when the subway entrance rumbled and dust shot out of the entrance. Some of the police investigated and found that the tunnel caved in.

Thankfully, everyone had gotten out safely albeit a little shaken. Kazu and Kenta cheered excitedly when they saw the others return, bombarding them with questions about what happened and what they'd missed while the fight unfolded underground. Juri noticed that Takato had become a lot quieter after the fight and a lot more reserved. When she asked him what was wrong, he brushed it off and went home.

His mood stayed the same, and even Kazu and Kenta noticed right away that his attitude had changed. But they didn't have much luck talking to him about it either. In fact, he quietly hurried home after class each day. Juri tried to catch him before he left but he was gone as soon as Miss Kamiya dismissed the class. Kenta of all people came her way afterwards and complained, "Hey, Juri! What gives with Takato? He's been bailing on us all week!"

"How would I know?" Juri asked skeptically, only to have her friend Minami join the conversation, "Why wouldn't you? You two have only been hanging out almost daily. Unless you two got into a fight? Is that why he's bummed?"

"Nah, he's been bummed since the digimon thing in the subway," Kenta said absent-mindedly. He only seemed to realize what he'd said after Kazu smacked him across the back of the head, "Ow! What was that for?"

"Idiot!" Kazu hissed at him while Minami laughed, "Digimon? Subway? Boys are so weird."

They all breathed a sigh of relief that she dismissed Kenta's slip of the tongue. Instead, Minami left that subject behind entirely, "So Juri, finally going to come hang out with us? You got to tell us everything that's been going on!"

"Uh, sure," she nodded while torn on the subject. It had been a while since she'd hung out with her own group of friends and the quiet when it came to digimon appearances was a welcome break. It wouldn't hurt to relax now and then. Besides, she had to kill the rumor that she and Takato were a thing. Or the story that she and Henry were a thing. Then again, holding on to Terriermon probably wasn't helping things.

She and all of her friends went over to Minami's house after school to hang out, lazing around in her room while drinking soda and listening to the radio. It only lasted for a minute before a hush fell over all the girls and Minami asked, "Okay, so spill Juri. Are you or are you not a thing with Takato?"

"No, we're just friends!" Juri stammered out quickly in her defense only to find Yuri pointing out, "Hey, we followed you guys after class one day. Until we lost you in the park. The same park where all the grown ups go after dark."

"You aren't doing anything weird, right?" Minami asked suspiciously, "You've gone with more than just Takato. We've seen you hanging out with Henry, Kazu, and Kenta. You're not becoming like them, are you?"

"No, of course not!" Juri answered, becoming uncomfortable with the questions. Some of them were leaning so far forward that she had to lean back to keep her distance. Of course, this loosened the items in her pocket enough for them to all slide out - mostly digimon cards that she'd been carrying to help out the team if they ever needed it. She went red in the face as soon as they were seen and Minami gasped, "Oh my gosh! Are you playing digimon with the boys?"

"Uh…kinda," Juri admitted sheepishly. The girls looked at each other anxiously, and Juri was sure they were about to exclude her from the group for it. Digimon had always been more of a boy thing than a girl thing. How was she supposed to explain this to them? Then Yuri piped up, "Well, as long as we're being honest…I kinda have some too."

She reached into her backpack and retrieved a small deck of digimon cards, "I kinda thought they were always cute but didn't say anything because I thought none of you guys were into it."

"I have a confession too," another said, producing her own set of digimon cards. Before Juri knew it, they all had a set of digimon cards out and Juri felt foolish for never having one until recently. More so because she never got interested only because no one else seemed particularly interested in them. Then Minami stated, "So we all have a deck. Pfft."

She started giggling. Giggling turned to laughter that spread like wild fire through all the friends and a game broke out between Minami and Yuri before anyone could say anything. As the game played out, Minami stated, "So Juri, are you going to cheer Takato up? I mean he may be just your _boy_ friend, but he's still a friend."

And they were back to the subject of Takato, which wasn't helped by the fact that Minami winked at the end. Juri frowned, "I mean…I don't know. Kazu's right, he's been down since last week."

"Why not start with the school field trip?" Minami asked, "We're all going camping and I bet you anything that something there will cheer him up."

"Yeah, maybe we can do a courage test," another of her friends suggested. Juri really hated where this line of thought was going.

* * *

Henry felt a little embarrassed waiting outside Juri's classroom for her to show up, mostly because he was sure he was causing her a little bit of grief over it. Not to mention any grief his own classmates were giving him over going to another class to talk to a girl. He tried to pay it no mind but knew one of his classmates would have some kind of smart remark for him if they ever saw this.

It didn't help that her own classmates wouldn't stop pointing and whispering as they walked in. The girls giggled and the boys were mocking him. That just made it all the harder to ignore them but it was nothing compared to having to face the Devas. He was just glad none of them had popped up since. Now if only he could crack why Takato had become so quiet since the subway tunnel. He said he was an Ancient or a Guardian or whatever, and that he was familiar with the digimon.

However, it was just as likely that he'd pulled all of that out of the books and tv show. And any fan of the digimon games knew all about that. And if he was telling the truth, how would he be able to tell? None of the Devas they'd met so far recognized him and it wasn't like he'd done much to prove he was besides that weird thing in the shed. Even Renamon wasn't convinced he was being entirely truthful and she seemed the most knowledgable on the subject of The Tamer and the Ancients.

And then he was pulled out of his thoughts by the appearance of a dog puppet in his face, "Woof, Henry. What are you doing here?"

He followed the sock puppet up the arm to Juri smiling at him, "You looked worried. What's up?"

"I wanted to ask if you'd bring Terriermon with you on the field trip," Henry began quietly, "I wanted to get him out more often but couldn't because dad found out about him. Thankfully, mom and dad have forgotten all about it so I think they'll be leaving me alone for now."

"Oh, that's good!" Juri said a bit too excitedly. Henry frowned, "He didn't cause you too much trouble, did he?"

"No…well, kinda," Juri frowned, "I brought him home once and mom found him while clearing my room. She wanted to know where I got him. I said it was a present so now they think there's a boy crushing on me and…ick."

He noticed the shiver and frowned, afraid that this was exactly the perception he was helping build. He sighed, "Well, I'll take him off your hands then."

That didn't wipe the unnerving smile off her face and Henry found himself asking, "Why do you look so happy all of a sudden?"

"I think you just gave me an idea on how to cheer Takato up," Juri winked. Henry glanced in to the class and noticed the boy hadn't arrived yet even though class was about to start, "Still out of it, huh?"

"Yeah," Juri nodded, "We were thinking of doing something for the trip but we weren't sure what. I think you just gave me an idea, though."

"Well, tell me about it after school," Henry said, noticing the bell was about to ring, "I'll see you later."

* * *

Later that afternoon, Henry listened along intently to Juri's plan while shaking his head in disbelief, "You want to smuggle Guilmon onto the school field trip. I'm not asking, I'm repeating it back to you because I want to be sure you hear how crazy that sounds."

"How hard could it be?" Juri asked, turning head towards Kazu and Kenta who simultaneously answered, "VERY!"

Kazu added, "Maybe you haven't noticed, but he's a giant dinosaur. He's not going to be easy to disguise. And it's not like we can just put him inside one of the boxes. Everyone's going to ask what we're doing with a box that big!"

"Not if we sneak him in on a bag," Juri said with a great big smile on her face. Henry massaged his forehead, "And where do we get a bag big enough to hide him? And then transport him to the school without anyone noticing? Maybe you haven't noticed but the guy is as big as one of the teachers!"

"Not if we use a tent bag," Juri said with a more than happy smile. Henry sighed and massaged the side of his head, "Okay, and how are we supposed to bring a tent bag?"

"We sneak it in with the other tents that are supposed to be coming!" Juri said enthusiastically to everyone's utter surprise, as if she'd given this quite a bit of thought for something she supposedly just came up with, "It's a camping trip, remember? We put him in a tent bag, sneak him in that way, and then we bring him here! How does that sound?"

"So how do we distract them from noticing that Guilmon is in the bag? They're going to notice the moment he makes a noise. And don't tell me he can keep quiet for that long," Kenta pointed out sheepishly. Juri scratched her head, "We'll think of something."

* * *

The day of the camping trip came surprisingly quick, and the only plan any of them could think to come up with was to drag Guilmon along the ground and stash his tent bag along side all the other tents that the teachers were setting up. Henry massaged his temple, certain that the teachers would notice there was an extra tent bag that was moving. And if they didn't notice, that would only make him wonder just how little they were seeing. Takato had said the different realities made it harder for people to notice odd things. With any luck, this would be one of those things.

But luck didn't seem to take their side since Guilmon was protesting the entire trip, "Stop dragging me! This hurts! I want my shed! It was safe there. I miss my shed!"

"You have to keep quiet, Guilmon!" Juri said to the bag, patting it gently, "If you make too much noise, you won't be able to come with us on the camping trip."

"Is this safe? Takatomon said not to leave the shed unless he said so!" Guilmon whined aloud, "And who's stroking my tail?"

Kazu grunted, "You are! You're the only one in there! It'll be cramped for a while but we'll be at the camp site soon, so don't worry."

"How far is it?" Guilmon whimpered. It turned to a loud groan when Henry replied, "It's a four hour drive."

Once they made it to school, they hurriedly threw Guilmon's bag beside the other tent bags. Once again, luck turned against them when Miss Kamiya noticed them and she asked, "What are you kids doing by the tents?"

Juri whispered at Guilmon to be quiet while Kenta quickly answered, "We wanted to see if we could help put the tents away at all, Miss Kamiya."

"Uh-huh, sure," Miss Kamiya answered with a raised eyebrow, looking at all of them carefully, "And why would you want to do that all of a sudden? Looking for extra credit or to cause a prank?"

"Is it wrong for some students to just want to help out?" Juri asked seriously. Miss Kamiya remained unconvinced and continued to stare suspiciously, and Henry quickly picked up one of the tent bags to quietly put away on the bus's storage. That did nothing to convince Miss Kamiya, who quietly muttered, "You kids just get on the bus already. We'll be doing head counts soon."

"Um…Miss Kamiya," Takato said appearing just behind her holding a camera. She spun around and sternly said, "Now I know this is a prank."

"Prank? What? No, I just wanted some help with my camera. I can't get the flash to work," Takato said holding up a camera for her. She examined it carefully, taking it from his hands and turning it over, "Takato, you're really trying to tell me you don't know how to use a camera? It's easy! You just…push this button…and…um…well…you see…"

She began turning the camera over in her hand in confusion. While she was distracted, Takato mouthed to them to do whatever they were doing. They all nodded and picked up Guilmon's bag. The little digimon grunted from inside the bag as all four of them moved the bag along the ground to get it onto the bus. It would be too dangerous to have him with the other tents where the teachers would notice right away, so they quietly snuck him onto the bus and loaded the bag onto the back row where they'd be sitting. Neither Takato nor Miss Kamiya noticed the noises Guilmon was making, as she was too busy trying to figure out the camera and Takato was too busy trying to keep her attention. Once the tent bag was safely stowed away on the bus, they gestured at Takato that everything was fine. Takato nodded just as Miss Kamiya stated, "I don't know Takato, can't you just get a digital camera like everyone else?"

"That's okay, I didn't bring any film anyway," Takato said, snatching the camera back and running for the bus. Henry passed him on the way out and he asked, "So what were you guys doing out there?"

"Nothing," Juri said quickly before he finally stepped onto his class's bus. He couldn't tell if Takato had already figured things out already or not. Then he felt Terriermon ruffle around in his back pack, "Do you think Guilmon will be okay?"

"Probably," Henry mumbled quietly so that no one would notice him talking to himself, "It all depends on if he can keep quiet for several hours."

"With how easily distracted those teachers are, I don't think that's going to be a problem," Terriermon said at just a whisper that turned I to chuckle. As they boarded their own bus, Terriermon stuck his hand out of the bag and said, "Hey look!"

"Huh?" Henry followed the finger along to see a set of dolls tied on a net at the end of the bus. All he saw at the end were a bunch of stuffed animals, until he was certain one of them was moving. A familiar white digimon sitting there with big wide eyes. He waved at them excitedly and Henry quickly took the spot beside him to make sure no one else noticed, "What are you doing here Calumon?"

"i saw all these big things show up and went inside to see what was going on. Then all you humans started getting on too! What's going on?" Calumon asked at a mile a minute. Henry looked around, relieved to see that no one noticed Calumon talking and whispered, "Keep your voice down. Do you want everyone to know you're on here?"

"It's okay! They think I'm a toy!" he said excitedly. This was going to be a long drive.

* * *

Rika walked along the street, lost in thought and trying to drown out the world with her music. Unfortunately, the music did little to calm her down as her mind raced with the haunting fact that her mom was Mimi and her dad was Izzy. How could she have missed all this? It didn't make sense! She started pouring over the books again, looking through card details, and even rewatching the show to find some detail she'd missed. It was just as well too, since no digimon had appeared in a couple of days.

What she found didn't make her feel better though - nothing she didn't already know. What was the point of all this? It frustrated her to know she was getting nowhere this way. So she decided to go to her favorite card shop to pick up some new cards and maybe see what new expansion packs were coming out. Inside, the smell of unopened booster packs and cards up on display made her giddy to think what she could.

As she began browsing the cards and wondering which expansions to get herself, she noticed a section of shelf had been allocated for books. Specifically with copies of the first volume of the book series. But something seemed different about them. As she moved closer, she noticed the cover was different and the title had a subhead:

A Digimon Adventure: The Digimon Tamer

Rika stared at the title perplexedly, grabbing a copy of the book and thumbing through it. As she did, the clerk noticed her perusing and asked, "Interested in the reprint?"

"I already have this one. It looks different though," she answered, trying to find a familiar passage or scene. The clerk laughed, "That's because it's not the one you think it is. That book there was the first one in the whole series! The forgotten volume!"

"What's wrong with it?" she asked, curious now about this forgotten book. The clerk's smile widened, "So get this: the guy who wrote the digimon books actually wrote this one first. It wasn't a best seller, though and only had a few fans. Critics said it was too dark, too serious, and wasn't very kid friendly. Some people liked it but not enough to get a sequel. So he rewrote it and called the new one Digimon Adventure. The story's about the same, but it was more kid friendly, had a few adult fans, and sold better. Anyway, since the author still hasn't released his third book, the publisher decided to do a limited reprint of this one. A collector's edition if you like."

"I'll take it," Rika nodded, producing some change and purchasing the book. Maybe this book would tell a different story. One that would finally explain everything.

* * *

By some miracle, Guilmon stayed quiet for the whole trip and when he was unloaded from the bus. Either that or he was knocked out. Thankfully, Takato seemed too distracted to even notice Guilmon in the oversized bag just a few feet away. After another head count, they broke off into groups for lunch. Kazu and Kenta went ahead with the Guilmon bag to set things up while Juri stayed behind to keep Takato busy, "Say, Takato. Feeling any better?"

"Hmm? Better?" Takato repeated sheepishly, looking bewildered. Juri nodded, "Yeah, you've been kinda off lately. Everyone's noticed: you wander off as soon as class ends and no one can find you. Kazu and Kenta were even saying that you stopped showing up at the 'usual place'. Whatever that is. So is everything okay?"

"Hm, yeah," he nodded quietly, scratching his head, "Where did those guys go, anyway?"

"Takato," she said to hold his attention just a little bit longer, "What's going on?"

"Just been thinking lately," he answered, "About everything. I've got a lot on my mind with the digimon, not knowing what's going on in the Digital World and everything else."

Juri didn't believe that. He was fine about that up until recently, when that digimon showed up in the subway. It couldn't have been that. If it was, he would've been worried about all this after he told them everything. No, it was something else, "Is that all?"

He threw up his hands, "You got me."

"So what is it?"

"Later. Where'd Kazu and Kenta get to? Seriously? They can't have gotten far with that giant bag they had," Takato massaged his temple and scanned the area around the park. She was a little disappointed that he wasn't saying but at least she knew now that there was something on his mind. But she didn't want to press it. There was no way they were done setting up by now, but she was sure they'd at least be far enough away to not be noticed. This time, it was her turn to take the lead and she gestured at him to follow, "Follow me and I'll show you."

It did feel a little weird to be in the front for once. Not that it was a bad feeling, just different. Normally, Takato was the one in the lead and she was trying to keep up with him. Now it was the reverse, and the pace was a lot more relaxed than what she was sure either of them were used to. They came upon Kazu and Kenta relaxing gingerly behind some bushes with Guilmon stretching his tail. Takato's jaw hit the ground as he called out in surprise, "GUILMON!?"

"Hi Takatomon!" Guilmon waved, holding a sandwich in one hand and a rice ball in the other. The digimon smiled, "It all looks so good and I didn't know where to start!"

"What are you doing here?" Takato asked, happy to see his partner but also a little surprised by his presence. Guilmon explained, "Juri, Kazu, and Kenta snuck me on to the bus. Then I took a nap."

"They did?" Takato looked at them bewildered, seemingly realizing something obvious in front of him. Then he started to laugh - eerily at first but contagious. For a second, Juri was certain he was broken until he said, "I mean…I can't believe I missed that."

"You've been a little spacey the last couple of days dude," Kazu folded his arms, "Juri figured that bringing him on the camping trip might make you happy."

Juri noticed the look Takato gave her. A surprised look but one that was also contented. Seeing that look made the blood rush to her face and she flushed with embarrassment. She turned away so that he wouldn't see her. But that look he had. In all the times he'd been silly in class or goofy, or even depressed, this was the first time he'd seemed genuinely happy. Not to say he wasn't always happy but this was…different. Then she remembered this wasn't the real Takato. The real Takato was lost somewhere. This person was just someone wearing his face. She mentally slapped herself for killing what should've been a good mood

They quickly settled down to eat their lunch, where they each took turns stuffing Guilmon's face with parts of their lunch. With all the different food options available, Guilmon looked and acted like he was in a candy store. He ate so loud and enthusiastically that they had to shush him several times to keep him from being too loud. But all their efforts didn't stop them from going pale with panic when the bushes started to shake - they scrambled to hide Guilmon before a teacher caught him only to be surprised when they saw Henry appear, "This is where you guys are. So…we might have a little problem."

"Problem?" Takato repeated sheepishly, looking down to see Calumon run out from behind the bush at Henry's feet. Terriermon poked his head out of Henry's bag and added, "Looks like Calumon followed us on the trip. We managed to stop him before he started asking people for food."

Henry set his bag down so Terriermon could climb out holding two boxed lunches. Henry apologized, "Hope you guys don't mind, I can't keep an eye on both of them by myself."

"Moumantai, Henry," Terriermon said with a great big smile. He opened his lunch and started helping himself while Calumon poked at the rice and meat inside, "Wow, it looks yummy! What is it?"

"Well that's a hotdog. That's a chicken nugget. Those are cherry tomatoes and…um…I don't know what that is," Henry's face turned as he tried to determine what the last item in the lunch box was. Of course, at that exact moment their digivices went off at the same. Juri noted the defeated expression on Henry and Takato's faces as they both groaned.

"Really? A digimon has to show up now?"

"Come on, I haven't even gotten a chance to eat yet!"

It didn't help that their digivices displayed the weirdest image on its screen: a golden rooster wearing what looked like a bowling ball with claws. Henry asked, "Another one with no name. Think it's a Deva?"

"No doubt. This is…um…Sin…Sin…oh, what was it?" Takato snapped his fingers as he tried to recall, "Cindermon? No, that's not it…I don't remember. I do remember he's a fan of gossip so we could probably use that to distract him. Oh, and he loves to pick a fight. Even if it's over something as simple as getting the last soda."

"You're kidding," Terriermon said disbelievingly until Takato answered, "He once whittled down a mountain with his beak because a stone fell off it and landed on his tail. It took him a couple thousand years but he did it. They must be getting desperate if they're sending him of all digimon."

"Well it sounds like we should go check it out," Henry scooped up his bag, "Digivice says it's this way. Let's go."

"You guys go on ahead," Kazu packed up his lunch, "We still gotta set up the tents."

"Huh, it's not like you to not want to see a digimon fight, Kazu," Kenta pointed out, until Kazu added, "Well someone's got to play distraction while you guys are away. The moment the explosions happen, Miss Kamiya and the other teachers are going to start doing head counts. We can buy a little time while you guys do what you have to do."

With that, they broke off into their groups. Juri looked back as Takato led them off, hoping they'd all come back okay.

* * *

Sinduramon examined his surroundings in the Real World to make sure nothing was amiss. It wasn't. It seemed so calm. So peaceful. There was no way Mahiramon and Sandiramon could've failed here. And yet contact had been lost with both of them. And the catalyst was still missing. He spread his wings and glided from tree to tree. The journey between worlds left him feeling drained and he needed more power. Electricity. That's what he needed. Electricity.

But where was he supposed to find that in this uncivilized place? He hopped along from one tree to the next in search of any kind of electricity but found nothing. Where even was he? Was the entire human world like this? Or did he just have the bad luck of ending up in the middle of nowhere? Was he just going to have to wait for a thunder storm and to get struck by lightning. It didn't help that he eventually came upon his only weakness in this place: water. A river of water flowing calmly through this endless forest. The evidence was really piling up that he was in the middle of nowhere. He grunted angrily, as if he were being taunted. This wasn't what he needed right now.

Adding to the list of things he didn't need: the unmistakable smell of digimon. Other digimon coming his way. He turned his head towards the smell and noticed two humans in the lead: one in a blue hoodie and the other in an orange vest. And with them were three comparably weak digimon: Guilmon, Terriermon, and…could it be? But how did they…why…did they have it?

He narrowed his eyes and flew their way, indifferent to the fact that they noticed him immediately. He wanted them to know. He wanted them to be afraid, "Humans!"

"Hello!" the hooded one said with a wave, "Hey Sin…Cidermon? No, that's not right. Sorry, what was your name again?"

"SINDURAMON!" he cried at the top of its lungs in anger, "WHO ARE YOU TO KNOW MY NAME!?"

The hooded one cleaned out his ear with his finger, "You don't have to shout, we're right here. Also, why do you all keep saying that? 'Who are you to know my name!' You're the Devas! Who doesn't know your name? Well, I kinda forgot. That's my bad."

Sinudramon grumbled as the boy went on, "I'm Takato, this is Henry, these are Guilmon, Terriermon and Calumon!"

"Do you know what you have?" Sinduramon asked, gesturing at Calumon. Takato looked down at the little digimon and answered, "A hyperactive six inch mouse with attention deficit disorder?"

"Attention what?" Calumon repeated, its head tilting as it tried to process what was said. Sinduramon roared in anger at the human's behavior, "You will not speak so disrespectfully!"

Neither human flinched at his bellow to his annoyance. Did they not know who he was? The other one calmly asked, "Do you mind not shouting? We're right here and we can hear you just fine."

The Takato human added, "More to the point. Why are you here? First Mihiramon and now Sandiramon. What are you guys here for? I mean, yes, I know it's because of the Catalyst but it's in the Digital World. That's the gossip anyway. You guys are looking in the wrong place."

Sinduramon was intrigued now, always loving a chance for a good chat when it presented itself, "Then you've got bad sources, human. The catalyst is here. It was sent away for safe keeping. Now it needs to be retrieved."

"Safe keeping? Safe keeping from what?" Takato asked, gesturing around wildly in confusion. Sinduramon leered at the boy. Was he fishing for information? Well he knew better than to give anything away. But he needed to tell someone other than the Devas. It didn't matter if they knew. They'd be dead soon anyway, "An old and unknowable danger, buried in the heart of the Digital World has awoken. We Devas who aren't fighting it with our Masters have come to reclaim the-"

"-the catalyst. Yeah. Look, we both know that's not how you normally talk so can we skip past that part?" the Takato human said. The disrespect was growing to Sinduramon's ever growing anger and it didn't help that the human had the audacity to add, "Look, you digimon coming over to the Real World is becoming a bit of a problem, especially when you start blowing things up. We can help if you guys want. That's what we have these for, right?"

Sinduramon couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was a digivice, but unlike any he'd ever seen. No. He had to focus. They were irrelevant. Secure the catalyst. That was why he was here. Forget the electrical power. With the catalyst nearby, he would have all the power he needed. He could defeat them all, "Positron Pulse!"

An arc of electricity shot out from the prongs on his armor and struck the ground in front of them. They all jumped back and Takato tried to reason with him, "Sinduramon! We're trying to help!"

"We don't need human help!" Sinduramon roared in anger. He swooped down to them with his claws out, "Die humans!"

"Is now a bad time to mention I'm technically digital?" the Takato human asked. Sinduramon answered by firing another blast of electricity. That was when the Guilmon and Terriermon decided to attack, "Pryosphere!"

"Bunny Blast!"

* * *

Henry and Takato stayed back as their digimon rushed into the fight. Calumon was too scared to get in the middle and hid behind Henry's leg. Henry looked over at Takato, "So what's the plan here? You said Sinduramon was prone to picking fights. I thought we we're going to use that?"

"Oh...I don't have much of a plan," Takato frowned, scanning the environment haphazardly, "I was hoping to get more info out of him first since he's a gossiper. Now we're winging it. Let's see: water. It'll short circuit him. Sure. Convince him to take a bath. Okay, trees. He can fly. It'd never work. Rocks? Um...you didn't happen to bring your deck did you?"

"Of course not! There hasn't been a digimon attack in days! I wanted to relax!" Henry spat out. Takato looked at him, "What do you call this?"

"Guys! Don't fight!" Calumon pleaded. They were supposed to be friends. Friends didn't fight.

Henry eyes narrowed, "Wait, where's your deck?"

"I left it at home," Takato answered and Henry snapped back, "And you're calling me out?"

"Stop fighting!" Calumon pleaded with them, "STOP FIGHTING!"

He closed his eyes and wished all of it would stop and he felt a sharp pain in his head.

* * *

Henry looked over in shock as bright light illuminated from Calumon's head - darting towards their digimon. It was so bright he had to cover his eyes to with his hands and stepped back. Before his voice was drowned out by their digimon's cries, he heard Takato shout, "Calumon's the catalyst!?"

"Terriermon! Digivolve to! Gargomon!"

"Guilmon! Digivolve to! Growlmon!"

By the time Henry could see again, he saw both their partners had digivolve to their champion form. Sinduramon became furious at the sight of them, eyeing Calumon viciously and charging straight for the little digimon. Thankfully Growlmon got in front of him and knocked him into a tree so hard that the tree snapped in half.

Takato scooped up Calumon and held the little digimon tight, "Sinduramon! We're not here to fight. We came to help. So stop fighting or-"

"Well a fight is what you're going to get, human! How dare you use the catalyst's powers!" Sinduramon roared as he dove out from under the tree straight at Takato. Takato side stepped the flying rooster, and they all watched the Deva crash into the river where he started convulsing in agony. Sparks of electricity flew through the air and arced with the current as it carried him away with the stream. Henry looked to Takato for an explanation, "What's happening? Why is he in pain? It's just water."

"Sinduramon's basically a giant battery and he's discharging all his power," Takato explained as they both watched the digimon twitch and convulse. After a moment, Takato threw Calumon into the air and ran to the water's edge, "Wait! We have to help him!"

Henry caught Calumon before he hit the ground, and quickly grabbed Takato by the scruff of his collar before he got too close to the water. Takato wriggled against him, but Henry shouted, "Takato! If he's discharging his electricity, running into the water will only get you killed!"

That seemed to knock some sense in Takato who frowned as the digimon finally stopped convulsing and exploded into data. Takato's jaw fell open as he fell quiet again. Henry shook him, "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, just...processing," he answered quietly while looking at where Sinduramon had been, "I'm not sure how I feel about this because I wanted to help him not hurt him but...well, he did it to himself. With how hot-headed he is, I'm not sure what I expected. Huh."

"Well while we're thinking about it, we have another problem," Henry thumbed over at Growlmon and Gargomon. While neither of them were looking, Gargomon began to absorb the digimon's data. Takato went on, "Right, first we have to get them back to rookie or we'll never be able to sneak them away. Then, we have to figure out how Calumon is the catalyst."

Henry looked down at the little digimon in front of him, surprised to see that something so small and friendly could be the very thing all the strong digimon had come looking for. Then he looked up at Takato, "IS the catalyst not a digimon?"

"It's supposed to be a big ball of multi dimensional energy harvested from a fire wall," Takato pointed at Calumon, "No offense Calumon."

"I don't know what you said but it sounds like you were trying to say I'm awesome!" the little digimon said gleefully.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Calumon was important the entire time! What will our heroes do with the little digimon? What will Rika find in the book? And what will the others do now that they know Tamer is back? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 due out in three weeks on Friday May 31st at 8 PM CDT. I'm taking an extra week to recover during this break because I've been sick and it's slowed my writing for the last week. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section along with any thoughts you might have on the chapter. Don't forget to favorite the story to show support, and follow to keep up to date with the latest updates. And now let's look at previews for the next chapter:

"Where do you keep getting all those?" she asked sheepishly. He stuffed as many as he could into his bag, "This is Shinjuku! Where aren't I finding these? Open up your bag and make some room."

"Uh...um...yeah," Juri unzipped her bag and held it open for him to stuff some smoke bombs in there for her, "Where did you even get the idea to use fireworks?"

"A friend of mine...I think," Takato answered quietly, "I don't remember. I think we were friends. Now that I think about it, she was mad at me a lot. That's not important. I got the idea from...um...something about pointy lights. It'll come back to me. Anyway, here."

Once her bag was stuffed with as much as it could carry, he zipped it for her and declared, "Alright! Let's go catch up with the others."


	16. Knowing More, Understanding Less

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 16: Knowing More, Understanding Less**

Juri didn't see Takato or Henry return until late in the afternoon, when the sun had almost set. Right away, she noticed something was off because Henry was holding Calumon like he was a baby that needed protecting from the world despite the little digimon's protests to be let go. Still, it was a weight off her mind to see that they were okay and she raced to greet them, "Welcome back! How'd everything go?"

"Another Deva down," Henry answered quietly, lifting up Calumon while also keeping a firm hold, "And we found out Calumon is the one they're coming to our world for. But the reason why is...well, not good. They said there's something in their world so dangerous that they sent Calumon here to hide him but now they need him back so that they can actually fight back against whatever it is."

"That sounds bad," Juri replied sheepishly, looking around and noticing they were missing two digimon, "Where are Guilmon and Terriermon?"

"It's Growlmon and Gargomon, right now. We have them doing hand stands out in the forest until they shrink back down to size. They've got to tire out eventually," Takato answered quietly, finally getting annoyed with Calumon's complaints and flicking him across the forehead with his finger, "Calm down, Calumon. We aren't trying to hurt you, we just want to keep you safe. If we were going to hurt you, we would've done it already."

That comment made the little digimon's wars shrink in size and Takato quickly threw up his hands, "Sorry! I wasn't try to scare you! We're just trying to figure out what to do with you since you're here now and apparently a bunch of crazy digimon are attacking our world to get to you."

"You're not going to give me to them, are you? They've all been real mean!" Calumon finally said something that wasn't a loud protest. Takato patted the little digimon's head, "No, of course not. We'll be keeping an eye on you so you don't run off. But who are we going to-"

"My sister!" Henry answered quickly, "She's seven so she's only in the second grade and she's probably the only one who can keep up with Calumon when it comes to playing."

Takato looked at him skeptically, and even Juri was unsure just what he was thinking. Did he really plan on bringing more people in on this? And a seven year old? There was no way he was thinking this through. Takato folded his arms and asked, "We already have enough people who know about digimon. Do you seriously want to tell someone else?"

"You're the one who decided to tell your friends," Henry gestured at Juri, "No offense, Juri. But he blabbed way before I ever did. At this point, what does it matter if we let any one else in? It's not like it's much of a secret at this point. One digimon blew up the top of the Metropolitan Building, and another rampaged through the subways. If anything, it's weird that there isn't more panicking in the streets."

Takato looked at him with his mouth wide open as he tried to come up with a response before he agreed, "Alright, but can we trust her not to say anything?"

Henry groaned, "She's seven. Who's believe her? As long as Terriermon and I keep an eye on Calumon, I think he's not going anywhere."

"Do I get a say in this? Because I don't want to be locked up any more!" Calumon whimpered. Henry lattes his head, "Don't worry. You two will definitely get along. Besides, she really likes to play."

* * *

Impmon stared down at the house below him. The same house where her first landed in the Digital World. The house where he met his 'human partners'. Two bickering kids who couldn't get along if their lives depended on it. He didn't know why he kept coming back to this place. It wasn't like there was anything here for him.

Ai, the older sister, and Mako, the younger brother. He watched them playing in the backyard and realized neither one of them had seemed to notice he was gone. They were too busy fighting over who got to play with what toys. It seemed like a cruel joke in hindsight - how did he get paired up with a pair of brats like them and for what purpose? Neither of them seemed interested in digimon - either as that kids' toy line in this world or him.

How were they going to help him get stronger? As he watched the two of tug over a teddy bear, he noticed the seams start to give and it eventually ripped apart. Seeing that reminded him of why he left. It was only a matter of time until they destroyed him the way they destroyed that doll. Humans really were more trouble than they were worth. But he couldn't stop himself from thinking on the other humans and their partners - Renamon and Rika, Takato and Guilmon. Both of them got along well with their partners and were able to digivolve. So why couldn't he have that? Why did he keep coming here?

He turned his back on the kids as they started wailing over another destroyed toy and left. To hell with humans. He would get stronger on his own, without the help of humans.

* * *

That night, they were all gathered around the campfire listening to Mr. Mori telling them what were his attempts at a ghost story. When none of the students found it very scary, Mr. Mori offered each of them a chance to tell their own ghosts stories and everyone jumped at the chance to tell a better story than him. They each took turns telling their own version of ghost stories: stories of haunted houses, restless spirits, nameless monsters, and other things that each thought would be scary. Others skipped their turn to come up with ideas or because they didn't want to. Then Juri's turn came and she froze, "I think I'll pass. I'm not too good at telling stories."

So it was Takato's turn, but he hardly noticed as he stared into the fire. He only snapped out of it when Kazu elbowed him, "Hey! Takato! It's your turn."

"Huh? Oh. What were we doing?"

"Telling scary stories, duh," Kazu answered, "Pay attention. Do you have one or not?"

"Oh...I guess. It's not a good one though," Takato answered quietly, adjusting uncomfortably where he sat. Kazu rested his head on his arms, "Oh, this'll be good."

Takato stared into fire a little longer before starting, "A long time ago, there was a monster that ravaged a far away land. It was a nameless, shapeless thing without pity or remorse. All it cared for was devouring all it could find. Those who survived encounters with it, were simply eaten later on. But stories spread - spread of this beast and it attracted heroes: the brave and strong who set out to stop it. And it ate every last one of them. With every battle, it became smarter - learning the tricks of every hero so it didn't work twice. It became stronger, so that no one could challenge it. It became more cruel, as it realized nothing could stop it. Soon, armies from distant lands came together to challenge it. And the monster laughed - seeing only more food to be eaten. And it ate well."

"So what happened?" Kenta asked, drawn into the story while half of the class was already tuned out from boredom. Takato stared into the fire, "One day - a single brave hero stepped up to face it alone. The strongest, wisest, bravest hero ever known whose name could turn any foe at the sound of it. And they fought - their battle changed the land around them. And it changed the hero. For the first time, both knew fear and the monster retreated. But the hero was scarred by facing the unknowable, the unkillable. It drove him mad, and he turned on those he swore to protect. One monster was defeated and another took its place."

Takato paused for again, staring into the fire before adding, "Fearful of what the hero had become, his closest friends devised a plan. They led him out into the wilds where the monster had fled, knowing the two would find each other again. And when they did, they went into a rage and battled. As they fought, the friends tricked the two and cast them into the chasm beneath earth and buried it. Their hope was that the two would continue their battle to the death, or be crushed by the debris. But their battle raged on. Every time the ground shakes, mountains erupt in flame, the seas swell, and winds rage - it's because their battle continues on. And should one win, it will only be a matter of time before the survivor returns from the depths."

"Boring," Kazu yawned, "That story sucked Takato."

The boy sheepishly replied, "I did say it wasn't a very good one, didn't I?"

The rest of the class were mixed. Some found it scary, but most were with Kazu in how boring it was. Juri found it especially unnerving - a monster that couldn't be stopped and could one day come back. That alone was enough to be frightening. But she didn't want to say that. Eventually, Mr. Mori clapped his hands to get their attention, "Okay, I think that's enough scary stories for tonight. It'd be best if you all went to bed now kids. We've got a bright and early day in the morning!"

"Aww!" the class groaned in unison, to which Mr. Mori stated, "No complaints. We have a day full of fun activities planned for tomorrow and you guys should get some rest before we do it."

Everyone slowly got up to go to their tents but Juri noticed that Takato stared into the fire a little longer. She tapped his shoulder to get his attention, "Hey, did you space out again?"

"Huh, oh yeah," Takato looked around, "What's going on now? Where's everyone going?"

"We were all going back to our tents," she pointed out to him. He nodded absent-mindedly, still sitting where he was and staring into the fire. Sensing something was bugging him, she asked, "Are you still thinking about whatever was bothering you before?"

"Kinda."

"You never said what it was," Juri pointed out to him and he stifled a laugh, "No, I didn't."

He looked up from the fire for a moment, "It's just…I've been trying to sort out the memories in my head for a while. I figured the old me would've planned for this and left behind some clues to help me figure things out. They come and go, but it's all a jumbled mess and the headache makes it hards to concentrate. But the memories I can focus on…how do I put this? Whoever I was before...didn't like fighting. No, it's more like...he was tired of fighting. When I close my eyes and try to remember the past, a lot of the memories that are there are just...nonstop fighting. And if it wasn't fighting, it was using others. And it scares me. I don't want to be that person. I'm trying to fix everything peacefully but it feels like no one else wants to. Rika and Renamon are always the first to go in swinging punches. I can't stop Guilmon from turning violent all the time, sometimes he just runs off on his own. And I'm scared if this continues, I might be like that person again. If that makes sense."

"It really doesn't," Juri answered, remembering their conversation the other day. This wasn't the real Takato. This was just someone else that looked like him, living his life. Takato shook his head, "I guess I don't just suck at telling stories, huh?"

"I thought it was good," she admitted quietly. Takato nodded, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Thanks for listening, Juri."

"Hey, hurry up you two!" Mr. Mori clapped his hands to get their attention. Realizing they'd both fallen behind the others, they got up and hurried back to their separate tents. Juri noted that Takato seemed a little more relaxed after talking, but burst into a small laugh when she heard Mr. Mori ask, "Boy, why can't Miss Kamiya and I be like that?"

* * *

Rika sat at her desk, flipping through the book she'd bought from the store. It was drab and repetitive, but that didn't stop her from getting all the way to the end out of a curious desire to know how it would end. She turned the last page of the book and closed it. She couldn't believe it. She didn't want to believe it. This version of the story, the one that wasn't popular…was so much worse than the one she'd come to know and love. And if any of it was true, she certain that they could no longer trust Takato or The Digimon Tamer ever again. The lies, the manipulation, the exclusion of important information - all of it put the digidestined and their digimon in danger. If he would've just told them…maybe…

It at least explained why her mom was the way she was. To think that was the reason why her grandfather on her mom's side never came to the city. Why her grandmother on her mom's side was a sore subject for both of them. But there were still so many more questions that were unanswered.

And there was the other part of the story that bothered her. The rage and anger that this Tamer character carried. He kept it buried for so long than when it got out, he became more of a monster than the digimon could ever be. Takato said he was having memory problems…so what if he remembered? Or worse, what if he did remember and was simply burying it again? What would happen if he let that explode again? She tried to imagine the dopey Guilmon becoming a mindless monster and that terrified her.

She looked up from her book and called out to her partner, "Hey…Renamon?"

"Yes, Rika?" her partner's voice called out from behind her. She turned around to face her partner, "This Tamer person that you think I am…what were they like?"

"According to many digimon, a brave hero, a great warrior, and a unique thinker," she replied. Rika frowned, because that all matched up with what she'd read in the book, "Would you trust them?"

"Beg pardon?" her partner asked. Rika sighed, "If you met the Tamer, I mean…whoever the Tamer was before, would you trust them?"

Renamon stared at her intently for the longest time, maybe trying to read in to the question. After a long, painful silence Renamon answered, "No. The Tamer had a reputation as a trickster…someone who would play you against yourself without you even realizing. However, I would still choose to work with the Tamer if I'd met him - ultimately, his aims were for the greater good."

The greater good. Rika wasn't so sure about that. She was missing a grandparent because of that guy. And she dreaded to think of what else she might lose if she spent any more time around him.

* * *

A day of fun activities was a nice change of pace from battling evil digimon as it had been in the last day. Of course, Henry noted that Takato's mood had improved somewhat, of course it probably had to do with the fact that he kept sneaking off to go spend time with the digimon. And the digimon were having a blast as well in the wilderness since they could be themselves without having to worry about running into anyone they didn't know. In fact, the one time Henry snuck off to join them it was to see them making a totem pole with Guilmon on the bottom, Terriermon in the middle, and Calumon on top.

And for some reason, they were all still doing hand stands.

Everyone's mood seemed improved by the time they all went home. Calumon tried to run off as soon as they got off the bus but Terriermon pulled him back into the backpack before he could get away. As they were all dismissed home, Takato came over to him and said, "We should tell Rika and Renamon about Calumon. I'm thinking we need a team meeting at the shed later. How does that sound?"

"Right now? We just got home," Henry said, only to notice the eager looks on Kazu and Kenta's faces behind Takato. Realizing this was happening, he sighed, "Fine, but let me get Calumon to my place first. The sooner we get him to safety, the better."

"Fine by me. I'm going to go find Rika," Takato answered. Henry wished he could've shared his enthusiasm - now the hard part was going to be telling Xiaochun and hoping she wasn't going to accidentally blab about everything. As soon as he got home, Xiaochun ran up to hug him and wrapped herself around his legs, "HENRY! IT'S YOU! YOU'RE BACK! HOW WAS CAMPING! COME PLAY WITH ME!"

"Hi Xiaochun!" Henry answered, taking one last moment to decide if she could be trusted. He assured himself that even if she blabbed, everyone would think she was just having an overactive imagination. He took his little sister by the hand and guided her to her room, "Let's go play in your room."

"YAY!" she cheered, skipping along, "We're gonna play dolls and tea party!"

Henry rolled his eyes and went along with it, annoying the snickers from his older siblings. Once he locked the bedroom door behind them, he kneeled down and unzipped the bag, "Hey, Xiaochun! Before we play, I got a surprise for you. But you have to keep it secret okay?"

"A secret?" Xiaochun jumped up and down excitedly, trying to peer into the bag, "Ooh! What is it? What is it?"

Henry reached into his backpack and produced Calumon who excitedly bounced around, "Finally! That bag of yours is stuffy!"

"Oh wow! He's so cute! Is he a pet?" Xiaochun said excitedly, picking up the little digimon and giving him a great big hug, "What's his name? Does he like tea? Ooh! I know! He can have my candy!"

"His name is Calumon," Henry told his little sister. Before he had the chance to say anymore, Xiaochun picked up the little digimon and announced, "Calumon, let's go play!"

Immediately, Calumon's tone shifted and his ears perked up, "Play? What are we playing? I want to play!"

"Let's play Pretty Princess Prissy Pants!" Xiaochun said excitedly, about to run out of the room. Thankfully, Henry was able to act quickly this time and grabbed her by the shoulder before she could get too far, "Xiaochun, wait!"

"Aw, but I want to play now!" Xiaochun frowned. Henry wagged his finger at her and said, "Did you forget already? You have to keep Calumon a secret, okay?"

"A secret? Like Terriermon?" Xiaochun asked innocently enough and Henry didn't like her tone when she said that. Especially when a sly smile drew itself on her face, "Henry, did you steal Calumon from another girl? Daddy says that's not nice!"

"No, I found him. That's different," Henry tried explaining to the little girl, annoyed that everyone in his family was thinking he was some kind of weirdo who didn't know how to talk to girls. Thankfully, she quickly lost interest, instead squeezing Calumon again with another big hug and cheering, "We're going to have so much fun and we're going to play dress up and have tea parties and play dollies."

Henry looked down into his bag to see Terriermon shaking anxiously. Listening to Xiaochun must've triggered some really bad memories in the poor digimon because he was shaking furiously in the bag and looked like he wanted to leave. He patted Xiaochun's head and reminded her, "Don't forget, he's a secret."

"Okay!"

Now to add the hard part, "Here's another important thing, Xiaochun. Calumon is real. He's not a doll, he's a real live digimon and he wants to be your friend."

"I do?" Calumon asked.

"You do?" Xiaochun asked just as excitedly. Henry then added, "Remember, you have to keep him a secret, okay? No one else can see him. Not even mom and dad. Otherwise some bad people may come and take him. If you do that, you can keep him play with each other all you want."

"Play?" they said together excitedly, "Yay! Play!"

* * *

Rika and Renamon expanded their patrols to the surrounding neighborhood after what happened with the last two digimon to come through: Sandiramon the serpent and Mihiramon the flying cat. These Devas seemed ready to show up any time now. Of course, it helped that she didn't want to be around when her mom had friends over. The last thing she wanted was to be asked to dress up again or try on more fashionable clothes. But she also didn't want to be seen leaving either.

No matter how many times she thought about it, she just couldn't accept it. Her mom was Mimi. Worse, she would hear the name whenever her grandmother called her mom. And when her friends came over too. The harder she wanted to deny it, the worse it became for her.

She waited just beyond the living room, as her mom's friends came in one at a time: that fashion designer and her rockstar husband, some detective, and a couple others she couldn't quite place. She wondered if these adult friends were the grown up digidestined. No, there was no wondering. This was them as adults. Then her mom said something that caught their attention, "So...I got something from Kari to share with all of you. She wanted to tell you guys herself but couldn't because of something going on in the school. Some field trip."

"She already filled Matt and I in, and we've talked about it to death," the fashion designer asked, "You guys can fill the rest of them in."

"It's about her brother," her mom replied. Rika couldn't miss the silence that followed or the sound of a cup breaking. She heard a slap and a woman say, "Ken! Not in her house."

"It's alright, Yolei," her mom said calmly, "Anyway, she thinks her brother is back as a student in her class. She sent the emails to me and I have them on Koushiro's old computer if you're ready to take a look."

"I can't wait for this," the detective guy grumbled. They filed into dad's office, giving her the chance to slip away. She had no idea why her mom kept that room after dad left and she didn't care. But she kept thinking on what her mom said…was Takato's teacher catching onto the fact that he was claiming to be the Tamer? She made mental note to pass that along if she ran into them. She ran out the door as quickly as she could and out onto the street, "Let's go Renamon!"

"Where to, today?" her partner asked as she appeared beside her. Rika stretched and answered, "First the card shop so I can pick up a booster pack and then on patrol around the city. These digimon have been popping up more often and I want to be ready for whenever the next one shows up."

"As you wish, Rika," Renamon did her vanishing act. Rika set out, ready for another day's worth of patrols and hopeful for another fight. And all of that vanished the moment she ran into the goggle head waiting for her, "Gogglehead? What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk. Team meeting," he explained to her. Rika folded her arms, "Team meeting? What's going on?"

"I'll fill you in when we get to the park. We don't know who might hear us out in the open," he explained to her. She hesitated for a moment, recalling all the information from the book. He noticed her hesitation and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she nodded and started walking. She wasn't going to be afraid of him. Cautious, yes. But she would not be afraid.

* * *

Yamaki walked along with his hands in his pockets, following the target calmly - a blonde haired man about his age wearing a baseball cap with the brim lowered to conceal his face. It was just a shame that it made him stand out more. He raised his wrist up to his face, speaking softly into the radio hidden there, "Target is approaching checkpoint one. Move to intercept."

"Copy," a voice said back. This was it. This was Takeru Takaishi - the reclusive author and journalist who vanished. It was entirely by chance that he'd been spotted skulking around the many game shops that sold digimon cards, made all the better because they were able to get a whole team of plain clothed agents present before he could leave. Now that he was leaving, this was their chance to acquire him before he disappeared again. After all, no one would notice if a missing person was captured in broad day light. And with Izumi out of the picture, they would need all the help they could get: voluntary or not.

The field agent just ahead of Takaishi moved to intercept, keeping his nose buried in a newspaper to conceal his face until the chance was right. As the two were about to bump into each other, the agent lowered the paper and started talking. Yamaki listened in on the conversation over the radio, moving closer to block Takaishi in if tried to run, "Mister Takaishi. Could I have a moment? It won't be long…Please, if you would come with me?…Let me be clear, your cooperation isn't being requested. Just come with me…Behind you, up above, two across the street, and one down that alley. You've got nowhere to…HEY!"

The field agent fell over backwards as Takaishi pushed past him. Yamaki spoke into his radio, "Babel!Babel! Babel!"

"Copy, Babel!" each of the agents responded back into the radio. Yamaki gave chase as each of the agents moved to surround Takaishi. Luckily, they knew the area well whereas Takaishi didn't. He ran straight into a dead end alley that was blocked by a twenty-foot high chain link fence. He was trapped.

Each of the agents moved in to block the alley entrance with their guns drawn. Yamaki watched from the back as the agents all tried to talk him down. Takaishi had his hands in the air to surrender. Yamaki breathed a sigh of relief. They caught him. Now they just had to bring him in. Yamaki stepped forward with a pair of handcuffs to make the arrest when Takaishi took a step back. It was like watching something out of a ghost story. Takaishi passed through the chain link fence like it wasn't there.

Yamaki felt the handcuffs fall out of his hands in shock - that wasn't possible. Takaishi just moved through a chain link fence. Like a ghost. For a brief second, Takaishi looked like he was waving at them. No, he was mocking them. He could see the vaguest semblance of a smirk on his face as he turned tail and ran far away from here. Yamaki clicked his tongue angrily - he'd gotten away. Were they all capable of doing this? No, of course not. Otherwise, Izumi would've run a long time ago. No, this was different. Is this how Takaishi had managed to go off the radar for so long? But how? Normal people couldn't do that.

Yamaki stepped forward and touched the fence to make sure it was real. It was there - cold and physical. There was something else they were missing. Something else they didn't see.

* * *

Rika followed Takato all the way back to the park, annoyed that their patrol had been cut short unceremoniously. Along the way, they ran into Henry walking along with Terriermon poking his head out of the bag. Terriermon waved at them excitedly as they walked past and asked, "Looks like we're all here!"

"So what are we doing with this team meeting?" Rika's eyes narrowed on them. Takato thumbed into the park, "We'll talk in the usual place. Not out here. We don't know who's listening."

"What? You're being paranoid! There's no one around!" Rika pointed out. Takato pressed a finger to her lips and explained, "All the more reason to be careful. That guy might show up again and he was really interested in getting his hands on Terriermon. We don't want him knowing what we know. And then you have Renamon. She can pull her disappearing act, but how many other digimon can disappear like that? Better to be careful."

"Fine," Rika scowled, following along with them as they made their way back into the shed. Once again, the others were all inside: Juri, Kazu, and Kenta. She was less thrilled to see Kazu and Kenta, but it was nice to see Juri here. As soon as they were inside, Takato called out, "You can come inside too, Renamon. We already know you're there."

She appeared just behind her at the entrance, "What is so important you needed me here also?"

"We found out what the devas are coming for," Takato began. Rika rolled her eyes, "We know - it's that stupid catalyst they keep screaming about. So what?"

"I mean we found out what the catalyst is," Takato explained to her sheepishly, "It's Calumon, that little guy who pops up every once in a while."

Rika couldn't believe her ears. Calumon? That pipsqueak? He was the thing that the devas were coming through to find? WHY!? He wasn't strong! He was weak! And tiny! She expected some big, powerful digimon. How was Calumon the catalyst? Did that tiny digimon really have all that power and energy hidden inside of him? And if there was that much power inside of him, why put it inside of a tiny thing like Calumon? Once any one found out, it'd be game over and anyone would be able to take him.

Thankfully, she wasn't the only one with her doubts. She just wished it wasn't Kazu who was also being skeptical, "Are you sure you're not still confused? There's no way a pipsqueak like that is gonna be what all these digimon are coming over to find!"

"That's Ancient technology," Takato pointed out matter of factly, "Infinite power contained in a tiny form - something that wouldn't stand out as much. The only down side is that whoever made Calumon didn't think it would be a bad idea to have him running out into danger at the drop of a hat. But that worked out for us more than once because he was there most of the time our digimon digivolved. If he wasn't there, he was probably hiding nearby."

"Okay, so they're after Calumon. Let's just give the devas what they want so that they leave us alone," Juri suggested. Terriermon snickered, "I wouldn't do that. We don't know who we're giving him to if we do that. What if he we give him to the wrong side? The DigiWorld's going to be in a lot of trouble then!'

"Okay, how do we figure out which side is the right side to give him too?" Juri asked. Takato interrupted, "We're not giving Calumon to anyone. All that power inside of him; it's too powerful to leave in anyone's hands."

"Right, so it makes sense that only we can hold him. Are you serious? We have a chance to end this and you want to hang on to the reason they're all coming over?" Kenta asked in disbelief, pointing an accusatory finger at Takato. He shook his head and tried explaining, "No, think about it. The digimon were showing up long before Calumon did. What would change if we gave Calumon back? We might give whoever is sending all the digimon here a power boost. And we barely managed to beat the first two."

"What about Sinduramon?" Henry asked. Rika looked over at them with a raised eyebrow, "Who's Sinduramon? Did you guys fight a Deva without me?"

She noticed Henry avert his gaze while Terriermon started laughing his head off. Takato sighed, "He attacked our camping trip but…well, he kinda killed himself. See, he was basically a walking battery and he ran at us, missed, and fell into a river. You can imagine what happened next."

"If we're lucky, the rest of them will all go down that easy," Terriermon snickered. Now Kazu folded his arms in frustration, "If they all go down that easy, it's no wonder Takato ended up with a partner."

It was hard to miss the annoyed look on Takato's face, but he refrained from saying anything to add, "Whatever the case, I think the best idea is to just protect Calumon for now until we can figure out what's going on in the Digital World - which we can go to once I figure out how the new digivice works."

"Whatever, so why did I need to be here? Next time write me a note," Rika asked, annoyed with what seemed to have been another waste of her time. Time she would've preferred to spend finding more digimon to beat so that she could make Renamon stronger. The disappointed look from Takato didn't help either, "I know what you're thinking, and it's not right. Digimon are living, thinking beings. You shouldn't be so willing to kill them as quickly as they pop up."

Rika was about to respond when all three of their digivices started going off at the same time - signaling them into the distance towards a new signal. And then another. And another. Four. There were four signals appearing. Rika couldn't deny the little bit of excitement building up inside of her. Just the chance to fight four tough opponents got her heart racing.

Henry wasn't as enthusiastic, "We might not have a choice with the next one. I think the Devas aren't too happy that their friends aren't coming back if they're sending four of them now."

"Yeah, we're going to need every advantage we can get," Takato frowned, "I'm going to run home and get some smoke bombs."

Juri quickly raised her hands, "I'll come too. The more we bring, the better."

Takato smiled cheerfully, "Awesome. I hate to ask Henry, but can you bring Calumon too?"

"Yeah. Talk about bad timing. We just got back from our camping trip and now we have another Devas on the loose. Hopefully Xiaochun doesn't mind going separate ways from Calumon so soon," Henry admitted sheepishly. Takato frowned, "Then bring her too, if you have to. If this goes south, we'll need his power to help our digimon digivolve."

"You do whatever you have to. Renamon and I will head in first and get a bead on the situation," Rika declared. They all agreed on that and hurried off to their different roles.

* * *

Henry tried to get back into his family's apartment as quietly as he could, but both of his parents noticed his return as soon as he stepped past the entry way. His mom called out, "Jenrya, why are you home so late?"

He cursed his luck and made his excuses, "I was out with friends. I'm just going to grab something real quick and then go hang out with them more."

"Wait, how was the camping trip?" he heard his mom call after him as he raced back into Xiaochun's room. His little sister already had Calumon in a dress and was hosting a pretend tea party for him with all her dolls, "Hey, Xiaochun. I need to borrow Calumon real quick."

"No way! We're having tea and I'm about to give everyone cake!" she complained, pretending to pour tea from an empty plastic teapot onto a tea cup for Calumon to pretend to drink out of, "This is really good. It's so sweet and yummy, just how I like it! So what kind of cake are we having?"

Henry tried to explain to them, "I'm sorry but this is an emergency. You two can play tea later."

"If it needs Princess Calumon, then I'm coming too!" Xiaochun said excitedly, placing her tea cup down on the table and picking up Calumon. Calumon was less thrilled by this declaration, "No way. There's gonna be another big scary digimon trying to hurt people. I don't wanna go!"

"Is it that scary?" she asked innocently enough, looking up at her big brother with those big innocent eyes. He nodded, intending to keep her as far from it as possible, "That's right. Which is why I'm only bringing Calumon."

Xiaochun puffed out her cheeks in protest and raised her voice, "No fair! If Calumon gets to go, I wanna go too! I wanna go! I WANNA GO!"

Henry couldn't argue with her mostly because she was definitely getting the attention of the rest of his family now. But he didn't want to because this was his sister. He couldn't bring her into something dangerous like this. First Terriermon, and now her! Was fate messing with him? Was he just going to have to keep escalating the people he was going to have to bring into danger. On the other hand, he couldn't afford to risk his little sister telling their parents about digimon being real. He sighed, "Fine, you can come. But you have to stay beside me no matter what. Do you understand?"

"YAY!" she cheered excitedly. Henry was already sure he was going to regret this and hurried into his room to get his card deck. He just hoped things didn't turn out as badly as he suspected they were going to. He called out to the apartment, "I'm going now! Xiaochun's coming too! We won't be long! BYE!"

"Henry, wait!" he heard his dad say but there was no time to respond. They had to hurry.

* * *

Juri and Takato made their way into his family's bakery from the back entrance, hoping to sneak past his parents before they noticed he was home only to be caught by his dad as he was taking some more bread out of the oven, "Oh, Takato. You're home! You're just in time. Could you help me wrap these up real quick and-"

Juri noticed that Takato barely gave him the chance to respond, "Sorry dad! In the middle of something, talk later!"

Juri couldn't imagine ever talking to her own parents that way, and wasn't sure if she admired Takato for it or thought he needed a good smack across the back of his head for it. It didn't help that Takato's dad was giving them a look that made her uncomfortable. In that brief moment when they exchanged glances, she considered what they didn't know: the boy living with them was not their real son. They didn't know Takato was still missing. She wanted to tell them, to let them know that they should still be concerned. But...she couldn't bring herself to break that news to them. Especially not now when they had other things to attend to. Deciding not to dwell on it, she hurried after Takato up the stairs and stopped at the door to his bedroom. She had never been in a boy's room before and realized now why his dad gave them a weird look.

It was a simple room too - an elevated bed over a dresser, a desk for doing homework, and a mess of clothes everywhere. Some of it including boy's underwear. She tried to avoid looking at it as Takato unloaded everything he had in his backpack onto the floor, grabbed his cards, and retrieved what looked like a box of smoke bombs from under his bed.

"Where do you keep getting all those?" she asked sheepishly. He stuffed as many as he could into his bag, "This is Shinjuku! Where aren't I finding these? Open up your bag and make some room."

"Uh...um...yeah," Juri unzipped her bag and held it open for him to stuff some smoke bombs in there for her, "Where did you even get the idea to use fireworks?"

"A friend of mine," Takato answered quietly, "Well, I think we were friends. Now that I think about it, she was mad at me a lot. That's not important. I got the idea from...um...something about pointy lights? It'll come back to me. Anyway, here."

Once her bag was stuffed with as much as it could carry, he zipped it for her and declared, "Alright! Let's go catch up with the others."

Juri nodded and followed him out the door, trying to ignore his dad as he called after them, "Don't stay out too late you two. Make sure he gets home safe Takato. And you better be back before dark!"

Juri was pretty sure she knew what he meant and shook her head in disbelief. Why did everyone keep thinking what they were thinking?

* * *

Rika, Renamon, Kazu, Kenta, and Guilmon arrived at the scene of the emerging digimon. Like before, there was a thick fog hanging over the air. On cue, she put on her glasses and searched around for whatever was coming through. Any of the four who were going to appear.

"So does anyone have any plans?" Kenta whimpered from behind her, "Because I don't."

"Wait and see," Rika answered firmly, keeping an eye on the fog as it expanded out in size. Any second now, they would be coming through. She tried to follow it carefully only to hear a soft growling from beside her - Guilmon was growling at the fog. The idiot. She tuned him out in time to see two figures dart out of the fog in opposite directions. Something that looked like a centaur but on a sheep's body, and another one that looked like a centaur with a bull's body. The two digimon landed on opposite sides of the street and started encircling the area to make sure it was safe before roaring. Then two more cake through - a monkey in a fez and a bipedal horse. The horse was so large, that simply landing on the street was enough to crack the pavement. There was no doubt. These were Devas. Rika signaled for everyone to get behind cover as they watched the four digimon begin to talk. The anticipation was killing her.

She was ready to fight but knew better than to try anything when they were outnumbered. She would just have to wait for now.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** There are four devas on the loose! Will Rika and the others be okay? Can they win against superior numbers? What are Yamaki and the rest of Hypnos doing to combat this? Find out all this and more in two weeks on Friday, June 14th at 5 PM CDT. I want to apologize in advance for the delay in the next update. The illness took me out longer than expected and I didn't do much besides lay in bed throwing up. Such is life. Anyway, I'm going to use this extra week to get some more writing and editing done. If you guys loved it, let me know in the reviews section! I try to reply as soon as I'm able. And hey, why not follow the story to keep up with updates and favorite it to show support? I've also gone to work setting up a tumblr to better interact with everyone! Feel free to give that a look. It's under the-digimon-tamer. That's all I have for now, so let's look at some previews!

He was stopped when a well thrown smoke bomb went off in his face, temporarily blinding him and leaving him defenseless. He retreated back to rejoin the sheep and the horse who came with him and roared, "Who did that? YOU DARE BLOW SMOKE AT ME! I'LL KILL YOU!"

Rika was pretty sure she knew who and got her answer when Juri appeared beside her with a bag full of smoke bombs, "We're back. Takato said take these and use them to make a quick escape if you need them."

Rika scowled, "Escape? Who does he think we are? Renamon and I aren't going to run from this!"

Juri tried to explain something to her but she was drowned out by the dumb goggle head's voice calling out to the massive digimon, "Sorry about that, Va...Va...Vaja...What was your name again? Something with a 'V'. I want to say Vajamas."


	17. Tamers Vs Devas

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 17: Tamers Vs Devas**

Yamaki and his team drove back to headquarters in their white van. He was still thinking on how Takaishi had managed to evade them by passing through a chain link fence. His team was missing something but what was it? He was pulled from his thoughts when his cellphone started ringing, "This is Yamaki."

"Sir," it was Riley. She sounded alarmed and spoke in a near panic, "We've got four large digital signals moving to bioemerge. They're going to appear right in the middle of the Shinjuku."

Yamaki pauses at the sound of that. Four? They struggled to contain one at a time, but four? Would they even be able to handle that? No. They would have to. There was no choice.

"Copy that, send me the coordinates and notify the QRF. Have them deploy the big guns. I'll take our field agents and try to contain the situation," Yamaki answered, hanging up the phone and tapping the driver, "Change of plans. We got four wild ones bioemerging nearby. We need to intercept and contain. QRF will arrive shortly after us."

"Sir, we're not equipped to intercept any wild ones," one of the field agents pointed out. Yamaki nodded, knowing they'd only brought side arms and handcuffs. None of them had body armor, or any weapons with enough punch to hurt these things. But that wasn't a reason to turn around, "We're not going to fight them, we're going to save as many civilians as we can and set up a perimeter to keep those things inside."

"With what sir?" the agent asked nervously. Yamaki flicked the man on the forehead, "Don't forget why we're doing this. Enough people have died because of these things. We save who we can, even if we're at risk."

"Yes sir," the agent nodded nervously. Yamaki wished he could buy into his own speech but was just as nervous. He'd seen these things for himself and knew they had nothing to actually harm them. It didn't help that he was now thinking of the time he pulled a gun on a kid. Granted it was a bluff, but he was ready to kill a kid. That kid called him out on his bluff. This time, there would be no bluffing. Lives were on the line and there was no time to hesitate for any of it.

* * *

The four Devas took a moment to take in their surroundings. This was the human world - and the stink of it was something else. They turned their noses in disgust from the smell, but they couldn't turn back now. Mihiramon, Sandiramon, and Sinduramon had all disappeared shortly after arriving in this world and there was still no sign of the Catalyst. They needed the catalyst now more than ever! Without it, the Digital World was doomed. Failure was not an option for them. They had to find it no matter what and return him to the Digital World.

That's why they were here. Pajiramon the Sheep Deva, Indramon the Horse Deva, Makuramon the Monkey Deva, and Vajramon the Bull Deva.

All four devas took a moment to steady themselves, trying to overcome the disorientation that came with crossing the boundary between worlds. There was a lot of screaming and panic that didn't help though. The humans were just so painfully loud and obnoxious. Vajramon growled and raised up his axes, "Let's end these humans and find the catalyst already."

"We must take care, dear Vajramon," Makuramon slapped the bull's side, "Don't forget, we're not the first to come here. If we are careless, we will most likely meet the same fate as our allies. If we do this right, then we'll go home alive and be hailed as heroes by our lords."

"I doubt tact and subtlety will work in our favor. These foolish humans haven't stopped screaming since we first arrived," Pajiramon pointed out for them, "Maybe they killed themselves in frustration. I just might if these humans don't stop screaming soon."

Indramon grunted under his breath and started walking, "Let's just hurry and find it. The sooner we go back to the Digital World, the better. Where do we go first?"

"We look for the tallest building in sight, climb on top, and try to spot it of course," Makuramon said matter of factly, "Don't you agree, Vajramon? Vajramon? I'm talking to you! Don't you ignore me!"

Vajramon was looking off at a car in the distance with three humans sticking their heads out of the corner. Aside from the fact that they weren't running screaming in the opposite direction, what stood out most was the Renamon and the strange red dinosaur beside them. Digimon. With human partners. Digidestined? No, they were far too young. The Tamer? Possible.

Makuramon remarked, "Well, won't this be interesting. What do you think, fellow Devas?"

"I think we should test their mettle," Vajramon drew his axes from his side. Makuramon rolled his eyes, "Of course you would say that. Have fun my dear deva, I'm off to scout the area. Play nice and I'll meet up with you shortly!"

Makuramon leapt onto the rooftops and vanished. Pajiramon clicked her tongue distastefully, "He says he's going to scout but I bet he just ran from the first fight we were going to have."

"He might have the right idea. The others aren't around anymore," Indramon grunted, "Maybe these humans had something to do with it."

"Then let's return the favor," Vajramon roared, charging forward with his axes out. Pajiramon reaches out to grab him but it was too late. They hadn't come for a battle but they had one.

* * *

Rika gasped and pulled Kazu and Kenta out from the cover behind the car, "Here he comes! Guess we don't have a lot of time. Renamon!"

"I'll draw his attention," Renamon raced ahead to meet the deva. Guilmon followed just behind her, spewing out fireballs to force Vajramon on the defensive, "PYROSPHERE!"

Vajramon used the flat end of his axes to absorb the attack and continued charging forward. Renamon used that opening and leapt out of the way onto a street light. He was too busy blocking the fire balls from the front which meant he wouldn't expect an attack from above, "DIAMOND STORM!"

The crystals appeared around her and rained down on the bull digimon from above. They hit their mark but he didn't seem to even care that he was being attacked. Whatever level he was at was enough to make their attacks ineffective. Still, they had his attention split between the two of them. If they played their cards carefully, they might be able to keep him on the-

"GGRRRAAARRRGGGHHH!" Guilmon roared out as he ran at the large bull digimon without a thought for his own safety. Renamon cursed their luck. What was the idiot thinking? He was running straight into danger for no reason. Wait, maybe he didn't even realize what he was doing. He was just a baby compared to her after all. The bull deva wasn't going to wait for him to think things through more clearly - he picked up his axe to prepare for the attack and dragged it along the ground in preparation for a swing. She hurried off the light post and pushed him out of the way of the incoming attack, "Don't get too close, you idiot. He could end you in one attack!"

Guilmon didn't listen to a word she was saying, too busy growling at Vajramon while she tried to carry the big dinosaur back, "Rika, what should we do?"

"Hold the line, that's what!" Rika said, producing her cards from her deck, "Let's give you a speed boost to help! DIGIMODIFY! Speed Boost, Activate!"

Renamon took off at blinding speed and dropped Guilmon off at the end of the street to keep him away from the attacking bull digimon. It was just them now - her against the bull. Thankfully, the other devas were keeping their distance. One at a time was going to be a lot better than all at once. She wasn't sure she could fight them all at once like that. But why weren't they coming to his aid?

The bull growled, "You're fast. Good. A sitting target is no fun for me."

"All this attention for little old me?" Renamon teased, zigzagging her way towards the bull digimon to bait him into swinging his axes. Once she was close enough, she leapt into the air and kicked the bull straight in the chest. The speed helped her give enough impact to hurt the bull and kick him back into a nearby building. She cheered, "Take that!"

The bull smiled, "A strong hit. I'm excited now! I was hoping for a good fight!"

Rika shuffled through her deck to find some more cards she could use but found nothing helpful. At least, nothing that would help her end this quickly. This was going to be a fight of attrition - because once he was down, there were two more devas she'd have to fight through. Just where were the others?

"Hey! Rika! Here!" Kazu piped up and produced a card for her. She snatched it away and saw a weapon armament that would give Renamon an advantage she would sorely need. She readied to swipe it and called out, "Get ready for another boost Renamon! Digimodify! Snimon's Twin Sickles, Activate!"

The card went through and a pair of twin sickles appeared in Renamon's hands. Combined with her speed boost, Renamon had all the advantage she needed to go on the offensive and stay there. The giant bull digimon was just barely able to keep up with her, swinging away his axes to no avail. He growled angrily at his own ineffectiveness, while Renamon continued to leap and weave through his attacks. She took every opening she could to cut away at his arms and deal more damage to the massive bull's frame until he'd had enough and slammed his axes onto the ground with all his might, "TERRA BLADE!"

The pavement cracked under the weight of his attack, shattering the road and exposing the subway underneath and the sewer line beneath that. The impact generated enough of a shock wave to throw Renamon off her balance and send her flying into a nearby building, smashing through the glass window and disappearing inside.

Rika gasped, "Renamon!"

"Worthy opponent," the bull growled, "I know you're still there! Come out and face-"

He was stopped when a well thrown smoke bomb went off in his face, temporarily blinding him and leaving him defenseless. He retreated back to rejoin the sheep and the horse who came with him and roared, "Who did that? YOU DARE BLOW SMOKE AT ME! I'LL KILL YOU!"

Rika was pretty sure she knew who and got her answer when Juri appeared beside her with a bag full of smoke bombs, "We're back. Takato said take these and use them to make a quick escape if you need them."

Rika scowled but graciously took the smoke bombs provided, "Escape? Who does he think we are? Renamon and I aren't going to run from this!"

Juri tried to explain something to her but she was drowned out by the dumb goggle head's voice calling out to the massive digimon, "Sorry about that, Va...Va...Vaja...What was your name again? Something with a 'V'. I want to say Vajamas."

* * *

Impmon leapt to a stop on top of the building and gazed down at the panicked streets below, wondering what had gotten the humans worked up so far. When he saw the humans and their digimon partners, he had a good idea why. But without all the smoke obscuring his vision, he had no idea what they were going on about. Annoyed at not knowing what was going on, he leapt down to join Renamon and asked, "Hey! What's going on? Did yous guys start fightin' each others or what?"

"Now isn't the time, Impmon," Renamon answered, keeping her focus squarely on the fog. Her red haired human partner asked, "Do you know this guy, Renamon?"

"Unfortunately," was all she had to say. Impmon was miffed now, "Hey! Is you disrespectin' me?"

"Impmon, now is really not a good time," Renamon said again. Impmon scoffed, folding his arms and staring into the fog, "So what's causing all the noise? Who's in there?"

"Rika!" another girl appeared, running to join them and stopping at the sight of him, "Oh…um…hello. Who are you?"

"Not your business, human," Impmon snapped, pointing a finger angrily at her. Renamon answered for her, "This is Impmon. He's being a nuisance, right now. I thought you were supposed to be smart? Well be smart and let's talk another time."

"It's nice to meet you, Impmon," the other girl smiled, while Renamon's partner commented, "He seems kinda weak."

"Whoa! Cool! Another digimon! Is he a Deva, too?" a boy wearing glasses called out, joining them. Impmon was peeved now. Who were these kids and where did they keep coming from? It didn't help that the one with the visor commented, "He looks kinda shrimpy, though. I bet he's too weak to actually pack a punch like the big guy over there."

"I'll show you weak," Impmon snapped his fingers and produced a fireball. Without looking, he chucked it as hard as he could into the smoke, "BADABOOM!"

The small fire shot straight through and broke the fog apart, revealing a large digimon on the other side. Three large digimon, to be exact. Realizing too late how big of a mistake he'd made, Impmon cried, "OH, THAT IS TWENTY POUNDS OF NOPE IN A ONE POUND BAG! LATER TOOTS! I'M OUT!"

He retreated as fast as he could. He may have wanted to be stronger, but he wasn't stupid. He wasn't about to pick a fight with a digimon that big and strong. He didn't even look back as he retreated. If he was lucky, he could get away before they finished fighting each other.

* * *

Henry ran along as fast as he could, carrying Terriermon in one hand and Xiaochun in the other. For all her talk of wanting to come too, she became tired the moment she was down the block. And they had no time to lose! He was so busy running, that he didn't see the man around the corner until he bumped into him and fell on the ground. Thankfully, Terriermon and Xiaochun were okay but his cards were scattered everywhere. As he scrambled to get them together, he apologized, "I'm sorry, sir. Sorry, I was in a…rush…"

He looked up and saw the man was gone. He looked around and saw that he'd disappeared. There was no time to dwell on it. He finished gathering the last of his cards when Xiaochun offered him some, "Here, Henry! You dropped this!"

"Thanks," he said, trying to reorganize his deck and stuff it back into his pocket. He scooped up Terriermon and Xiaochun again, glad that bother Terriermon and Calumon were able to keep up their stuffed doll act. They had to hurry.

* * *

Vajramon couldn't believe the disrespect he was hearing. From a human no less. He growled, "I am Vajramon! Who are you to-"

The human had the audacity to interrupt him before he even finished, "-to know you. Hi there, Takato Matsuda. I think. Look, it's not important. I'm a Guardian and you guys are Devas. We did all this with the other Devas. Look, can we fast forward past the fighting and the angry growling, and just talk? For like a minute? Please?"

Vajramon leered into the smoke as it cleared and saw…a boy who was shorter than the rest of the human children present. He was possibly the shortest of the group, wearing a blue hoodie and some yellow goggles on his head. In spite of everything he saw, the human was standing there with his hands in the air in a mock form of surrender as he added, "There are no tricks, and you can tell I'm not anything resembling a threat. All I want to do is talk. If you guys will let me, that is. Or you could blow me away. And I don't have enough words to appreciate how much I don't want to be blown apart. It'd be a bad day for everyone."

Vajramon looked over his shoulder at Indramon and Pajiramon - Indramon didn't seem to care while Pajiramon was intrigued. The sheep digimon stepped forward, "And what did you want to talk about?"

"You're…um…Pandamon? No, that's not it…Pajamalamamon! No, that's not it either," the boy scratched his head, "Sorry, my head's all fuzzy. What's your name again?"

"Pajiramon," she replied calmly, as if talking to an old friend, "I presume you know us because of the other Devas. The ones who came before - Mihiramon, Sinduramon, and Sandiramon?"

"Yeah, that's right," he said starting to walk forward. Then that curious red dinosaur charged in to stand in front of him, growling at them threateningly. Vajramon readied his weapons in preparation for a fight but the dinosaur calmed down when Takato petted his head, "It's okay buddy. We're just talking."

"Are you sure?" the dinosaur asked uneasily, keeping a wary eye on the Devas. Still, he nodded, "If you say so Takatomon."

Vajramon lowered his axes while Pajiramon continued her talking, "Tell me, what happened to the others? They were sent here to find the catalyst. We've heard nothing from them since."

He noted the boy hesitate as he answered, "In order: we killed Mihiramon and Sandiramon, but we couldn't avoid it. Mihiramon tried to bring a building down in the middle of the city and Sandiramon wouldn't stop attacking us. Neither of them wanted to listen and one of them was trying to eat us. As for Sinduramon, he was more talkative and I really think I could've gotten through to him until he fell into a river. That was an accident by the way, we didn't do anything. If anything, it's kinda sad that he went that way."

Vajramon growled under his breath and felt his grip tighten around his axe. The humans killed the others! Worse, they were making excuses for it. Sinduramon falling into the river made sense, he always was a bold idiot. But Mihiramon and Sandiramon? That had to be intentional! They wouldn't fall to their deaths into water. No, they were murdered and this human was going to pay the price. All he wanted was an excuse now.

"BADABOOM!"

A small ball of fire shot through the smoke and struck him from the chest. It scratched his armor slightly, but he barely felt. He followed the fire's trail all the way back to the other side of the smoke and saw a small Impmon on the other side with a smug smile. As soon as they made eye contact, his smile vanished and he darted to run. This was just the excuse he wanted. This was a trick to take them off their guard. And it had failed. He raised his axe to attack when Takato asked, "Who was that?"

"He wasn't with you?" Pajiramon asked.

"Never seen him before," Takato shrugged, "I thought he was with you."

"Obviously not," Vajramon growled.

Pajiramon place a hand on his axes and guided them down, gesturing to him to stop, "Put those down, Vajramon. Perhaps we got off on the wrong hoof. Let us introduce ourselves: I am Pajiramon, this is Vajramon, and over there is Indramon. We're not interested in unwanted squabbles. All we want is to find the catalyst."

"Yes, we know. Why? Sinduramon gave us a small explanation but it wasn't much. Some old, unknowable evil. Might as well have said the enemy for as useful as that was," the Takato human answered quietly, "But you sent the catalyst here first. If this evil is so bad, why not use it first and then send it away to keep it safe? What exactly is going on in the Digital World?"

"Who are you for caring?" Pajiramon asked curiously, approaching the human child with arms folded. The Takato human frowned, "I already said, I'm a Guardian. Guardian of Destiny? Ancient? Sage of Data? Sentinel of History? Cyber Forebears? Any of this ringing a bell?"

"Yes, but which one?" Pajiramon asked again. Vajramon looked at her when she asked that question, unsure of what possessed her to ask. The human had just said so why was she asking? Pajiramon went on, "You look like a human child, but you talk like you're much older. And there's something else: a weariness in your eyes that I don't see among the other humans. So who are you?"

The human boy looked away for a moment, obviously pained by that question. Even the other human children who were present looked on with quiet curiosity, obvious wanting to know what his answer was. He sighed and said, "Oh come on, Pajiramon. I thought you were the smart one. Piece it together already!"

Pajiramon's eyes widened as she examined him more closely. Goggles, a blue hoodie, messy brown hair, and an annoying personality. It couldn't be. But it fit so well. Her silence made Vajramon asked, "What is it?"

She looked at him, still reeling from the realization, "Vajramon. He's-"

"OPEN FIRE!"

A hail of bullets fired at them.

* * *

"NO!" Takato shouted out, unable to say another word as Renamon appeared beside him. She grabbed the boy and Guilmon, then retreated away to safety, "Why do you two keep putting yourselves in dangerous situations?"

Takato wasn't paying attention to her, calling out, "Who did that? Who attacked!?"

She retreated back to an empty bus, setting them down beside the others and peering around the corner. Takato continued to panic, "Who's doing that?"

"It was those guys!" Kazu pointed out to a group of armed men in black combat gear firing rifles at the three large Devas. Above were a pair of helicopters circling around the digimon, firing guns from their sides that riddled the Devas with bullets. Takato clicked his tongue angrily, "Oh, now these guys show up. Okay, we need to end this quickly and stop anyone from killing each other. How do-"

"Are you kidding me?" Rika snapped at the boy, "We need to save our world and kick these guys out!"

"GUYS!" Henry shouted out, running up to them with a little girl holding Calumon. Kazu shouted, "Seriously? Did you just bring a little girl to this?"

"That little girl is my sister," Henry snapped back at them, taking cover with them behind the bus, "Guys, this is Xiaochun. Xiaochun, this is Takato, Guilmon, Rika, Renamon, Juri, Kazu, and Kenta."

"Henry, who are those guys? What's going on?" Xiaochun asked innocently, peeking out from behind the bus to see the armed men shooting at the devas. Henry pulled the girl back behind the bus, "Stay back, it's not safe. Okay, Calumon - you need to help our partners digivolve!"

"I don't think I can," Calumon shook fearfully, but Henry went on, "We've seen you do it before. You can do it again. But you need to do it now. If you don't, those people are going to get hurt. Those digimon are going to get hurt."

"Terra Blade!"

"Thunder Stomp!"

Vajramon and Pajiramon struck the ground hard enough to shake the soldiers onto their backs. Then Indramon charged them, throwing a few of them aside, "HUMANS! YOU DARE ATTACK US!?"

Seeing this caused Takato to panic further, "We can't just sit back and watch this happen. Calumon, you need to help us out now!"

"I can't," Calumon shook. Takato groaned in frustration and produced some smoke bombs from his bag, "Never mind. Plan C. Wing it."

"Plan C?" Rika scowled, "What was Plan B? Heck, what was Plan A!?"

His answer only annoyed her more, "Plan A was talk it out. Plan B was Calumon."

He dashed ahead with Guilmon, leaving them behind. Kazu asked, "I know we normally don't participate in these fights but does he usually just run in like that?"

"Usually? He does it all the damn time," Rika snapped, "Renamon, keep those idiots from getting hurt."

"Understood," Renamon cried out as she ran in after the two idiots, annoyed that she had been reduced to being their babysitter. Terriermon leapt up and announced, "I'm going to go help too!"

"Terriermon, wait!" Henry shouted after his partner. It only now seemed to register to his little sister that the situation was dangerous and she cried, "Terriermon? Oh no! Don't go Terriermon! You could get hurt!"

Terriermon wasn't listening to her anymore and ran in to attack. Henry couldn't blame his partner though - he'd been hesitant to let his partner into the fight before. But this time, his hesitation was because he didn't exactly have a plan on what Terriermon should do in this fight. He grabbed his deck and started shuffling through it quickly, trying to figure out what he could do to give his partner as much of a boost as he could.

He didn't need speed, he was too small to hit already. Power? These were devas. He could swipe this card three times and it wouldn't make much difference. WarGreymon's Brave Shield would definitely help. He could use it to protect himself - and make himself a giant walking target. Wait, he didn't have to use it to defend himself. And Indramon was getting awfully close to those soldiers. He called out, "Get ready Terriermon! Digimodify! WarGreymon's Brave Shield Activate!"

The large shield appeared in Terriermon's palms and he immediately tripped over its weight, "Henry! What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Throw it between Indramon and those soldiers! Nobody has to die!" Henry shouted. Terriermon nodded and spun in place, throwing it like a frisbee towards the street in front of the soldier Indramon was staring down. The shield slammed into the ground and dug into the asphalt. Indramon turned towards Terriermon, "Stay out of our way, little digimon, or we will end you."

"How about you pick on someone your own size?" Terriermon shouted back. His tune changed as soon as Indramon started walking his way and Terriermon to run, "I said someone your size! I'm not your size! Leave me alone!"

"Someone like me! Pyrosphere!" Guilmon roared, spitting out a ball of fire his way. The fireball bounced off the massive digimon's frame and he massaged where he was hit like it was nothing. Then he pressed on towards Guilmon. Finally coming to his senses enough to realize he was in trouble, Guilmon picked up Terriermon and fled from the massive digimon. Renamon took this chance to kick Indramon from behind and rain her attack down upon him, covering him in diamonds, "Diamond Storm!"

Indramon brushed off the attack like it was nothing and continued, bringing his massive arm down on Guilmon and Terriermon. The two digimon were sent flying through the air and rolled to a stop just in front of Xiaochun and Calumon. The little girl gasped in terror, and Henry tried to cover her eyes before she saw anything else, "Terriermon! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, did anyone get the number of that truck?" Terriermon whimpered from the pavement. At least he was still breathing but he needed to help his partner now. He stepped away and picked up Terriermon, and tried to stir Guilmon before the Indramon caught up to them. Thankfully, another smoke bomb went off around them - obscuring them and giving Kazu and Kenta a chance to run in, "What are you doing!?"

"We need to get them to safety!"

The two helped lift up Guilmon and began to carry him away, while Henry asked, "Where's Takato?"

"He ran at the sheep all by himself!" Kenta answered, "We have no idea what he was thinking!"

Henry looked off in the direction of the other two devas, trying to figure out what Takato was thinking. That guy was going to get himself killed! He looked over at Calumon, hoping that the little digimon would finally do whatever miracle he did before that made their partners digivolve to levels far above what they were. But they weren't going to put much distance between them as Indramn gained - forcing Renamon to put herself in the middle with her two scythes, "Leave them alone! I'm your opponent."

"Hmph. You're Vajramon's enemy, not mine," Indramon grunted, continuing on like nothing happened. Miffed at being ignored, Renamon charged at Indramon to go on the offensive. But her efforts were in vain against such a large opponent. There was no chance here. Just as Indramon caught up to them and they were sure they were going to bite it, Henry saw a flash of light from Xiaochun's direction.

* * *

Pajiramon worked in tandem with Vajramon to keep the attacking humans at bay and was annoyed that they kept using smoke to disappear before they could finish any of them off. The more smoke that went off, the harder it was to see until eventually the two Devas were forced to retreat back. Vajramon growled, "This is hardly the challenge I expected would defeat the others. Well, maybe Sandiramon. What do you think, Pajiramon?"

"I think we walked into a trick," Pajiramon scanned the fog until she saw a small boy standing there - the boy called Takato. She pointed at him, "You tricked us, didn't you? Using overtures of peace and talking to distract us."

"No, I swear this has nothing to do with me," Takato declared, gesturing to all the human soldiers, "I just wanted to talk, I have no idea who these others are. But you need to stop fighting. If all of you leave now, we can get to safety. This doesn't have to end violently, just please listen to me!"

"We're not listening to any thing else you have to say, human," Vajramon accused, "This ends now! RRRAARRGGHH!"

Vajramon charged forward at another set of humans with his axe drawn to attack. The human continued to plead, "Vajramon, please listen to me! This isn't-"

A bright flash of light from the side distracted his attention just long enough to make Vajramon stop midswing.

"Terriermon! Digivolve to! Gargomon!"

"Guilmon! Digivolve to! Growlmon!"

"Renamon! Digivolve to! Kyubimon!"

Right away, Pajiramon understood what had happened and her anger knew no bounds. Not only did the boy try to trick them, he also knew where the catalyst was! And if she were a betting deva, she would bet that this was why the other devas were dead now. Actually, this was a good thing. It meant that they could get what they need and retreat back to the Digital World before things went south. She shouted, "Vajramon, the catalyst! I'll deal with the liar."

"I'm not a liar!" the boy protested, "Just please, listen to me! PLEASE!"

Pajiramon's mind was made up and so was Vajramon. He ran to support Indramon while she rounded on the human boy, "I almost believed you, for a moment. I thought you might actually be him. The Digimon Tamer. But he would never stoop so low as to use tricks like you have."

The boy stared at her in silent disbelief, "You...really have no idea how wrong you are. In every sense of the word."

"PYRO BLASTER!" A blast of red fire shot through the smoke and struck Pajiramon from the side. The red dinosaur had digivolved and raced to help the boy, "Takatomon! Stay behind me!"

"No, get us out of here Growlmon," Takato shouted back. Growlmon scooped up the boy, taking care to mind his distance from Pajiramon. All the while, Takato pleaded, "Pajiramon please. I don't want any more digimon to get hurt. Just stop attacking and we can talk this out."

"I'm sure you told Mihiramon, Sinduramon, and Sandiramon the same thing before you ended them," she hissed back at him angrily. She charged after him and Growlmon took off at a run. The chase was afoot.

* * *

"Gargo Pellets!"

"Foxtail Inferno!"

The attacks hit their mark and sent Indramon sliding backwards. Both Kazu and Kenta cheered, joining Juri in popping smoke bombs at the large digimon to confuse it while Gargomon and Kyubimon ran circles around him. Without the ability to tell where the attacks were coming from, the digimon had no choice but to retreat back towards its ally. For a moment, it looked like they had the advantage. Until Vajramon turned to his side swinging his axe like a madman, "I know it's here! Where is the catalyst!"

Henry darted toward his little sister and Calumon; he needed to get them out of there before either digimon took notice of them, "Xiaochun! Run!"

"Henry! What's happening! I don't like this!" she whined, scared out of her mind as the situation got further and further out of control. Unfortunately, Vajramon took note of their attempted retreat and advanced on them, "Where are you going? We're not done here! Surrender the catalyst!"

"You're not going to, right?" Calumon pleaded. Henry pushed his little sister and Calumon ahead of him, ushering them to run, "No. Now run! Get as far away as you can!"

He turned to face the incoming Deva, shuffling through his deck to find a card that could save the day. But nothing. None of the cards he had were going to make much difference against deva. Gargomon started firing on the big guy to get his attention, but he was so fixated on Henry and Xiaochun that he didn't seem to care that the hail of bullets were raining on him. Kyubimon tried to come to their aid but was cut off by Indramon, "You're not going anywhere. You wanted to fight me. Well here I am!"

"Out of my way!" Kyubimon spat back at the deva angrily - hoping to end their fight quickly while Rika began swiping cards like crazy to give her an edge. Henry wished he could have that luck, or the sense to think that clearly in the heat of battle. But he fumbled his cards as he searched his deck and scrambled to pick them back up. That was when he found a single blue card hiding amongst them - one he hadn't seen before with the blocky drawing of a digimon on it. Wait, when did he get that card? That wasn't his card. When did...no, there wasn't time to think about it. It was a gamble, but it wasn't like he had any other options, "Digimodify! Activate!"

His digivice came to life with brilliant white light that shot out of its frame and arched on over to Gargomon. His partner rose into the air as the light absorbed him and his voice echoed out, "Gargomon! Digivolve to! Rapidmon!"

The light faded away to reveal a new digimon - something between a jester in metal armor and a rabbit armed with machines, clad entire in the color green. Two blue eyes poked out from inside his helmet marked by a single protruding horn. Henry felt a lump form in his throat from sheer awe of the his partner's Ultimate form. Xiaochun pointed at him, "Henry! Is that Terriermon? He's so cool!"

Henry was barely able to find the words to respond, watching as his partner slammed into Vajramon at top speed and aimed his arm cannons at his face, "Look at that! We're the same size now! RAPID FIRE!"

Vajramon howled in pain, Rapidmon's guns roaring like chainsaws as the bullets ripped apart his face. The brutality of it shocked Henry and he went to cover Xiaochun's eyes before she could see what he did. Once Rapidmon's bullets died down, Vajramon body took a step back to show a half missing face affixed in agony before he burst into data. As quickly as the data spread, Rapidmon went about absorbing the data in front of the other two devas who looked on in utter terror.

Then he saw the look of disapproval and sheer disgust on Takato's face as if he were trying to say something but couldn't bring himself to. He'd worry about that later. They'd just defeated Vajramon but there were still two more devas. And now that Vajramon was gone, they were definitely going to focus on Rapidmon.

"What should we do?" Indramon asked calmly, looking back at Pajiramon, "We're surrounded and they have the catalyst."

Pajiramon scowled at them - at him - and replied, "Retreat and regroup."

"Lick our wounds?" Indramon grunted until Pajiramon grabbed a hold of him, "We have no other choice. Now let's go you stubborn idiot!"

Before any of the others could act, a small fog enveloped the two digimon and they vanished as quickly as they came. He heard cheers coming from Kazu and Kenta, but his own heart pounding in his ears made it hard to find the positive in the situation. He turned to look for his sister, calling out for her, "Xiaochun, are you okay?"

"I'm okay," she replied quietly, "Henry, why did you do that?"

Henry looked away from his sister, unsure of how to answer that question to her. He didn't like it and he wished Rapidmon hadn't been so quick to kill the deva but the deva was certainly going to kill them. And talking had failed the moment those other guys showed up. He tried to calm himself by taking slow, deep breaths - stilling his mind and bringing him back to the present moment. Then he noticed something he wished he hadn't - his dad standing there at the end of the block, staring at them in wide eyed disbelief. He gulped, "Dad?"

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Henry's been caught by his father. What happens next for our child heroes? What are the Devas going to do next? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out next Friday on June 21st due out at 5 PM CDT. If you loved it, let me knwo in the reviews section. And don't forget to follow and favorite the story to show support and keep up to date with the latest updates. Now let's look at previews for the next chapter!

 _He sighed as he scampered along until he felt something staring from behind him. He ignored it at first, hoping it would go away on its own as he continued moving. When it didn't, he decided to let it chase him into a trap. He would show it what happens to anyone stupid enough to follow him. As he came upon an open area with only a single light post, he turned and fired a single fireball into the trees, "Bada Boom!"_

 _The fire ball hit the tree branch he was just on and set it aflame, forcing whoever was following him to leap out to safety. A strange monkey digimon wearing a fez, "That wasn't very polite, now was it?"_

" _You's the one who's bin followin' me," Impmon retorted angrily, "Who are ya!?"_

" _My dear little rookie, I am a Deva," the monkey announced with all the bombast of a clown. Impmon turned his head and asked, "Okay, what is that and why should I care? Some kinda musician with an ego? Also, what's with the stupid hat?"_


	18. His Dad's Secret

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 18: His Dad's Secret**

"What is all this? Why are…you and Xiaochun here?" his asked him, gazing at them and then at the digimon. Normally, Henry would've expected his father to be angry or even scared. But he seemed more confused, picking Xiaochun up and holding her tight. Whatever he was about to say next was cut off when a black attack helicopter appeared overhead, and he instead gestured away, "We'll talk about this later. We're getting out of here."

"Where are we going?" Henry asked anxiously and his dad replied, "Anywhere that isn't here. It's not safe. Let's go."

Henry looked back at the others, worried about what would happen to them and began, "But what about-"

"Henry, who's this guy?" Kenta asked aloud, appearing beside him silently and making him jump worse than the helicopter. Before Henry could even think to respond, Takato called out, "Guys! Let's talk later! We should run! No, wait! Split up. We'll meet up at the park."

Juri looked at him quizzically, "Why split up?"

"Because three large digimon moving separately are harder to track than a three large digimon moving together. Even harder when there's five! Use the smoke bombs to throw them off!" Takato explained quickly. He gestured to Growlmon to pick him and he took Kazu and Kenta with him as well, "Now let's go."

He dropped a smoke bomb and they watched the silhouette of the dinosaur run off down the street. Rika was quick to agree, "Makes sense. Juri, come with me and Kyubimon!"

The girl climbed up onto the fox and it took off for a sprint down the street, smoke bombs going off all around it to throw off the helicopters.

Rapidmon followed their lead, scooping up Henry and his family, "Let's get out of here!"

Before Henry could think to get another word in, Rapidmon ascended into the air and flew off down the street. Xiaochun let out cheers of delight, as did Calumon when the wind roared past their faces. Their dad on the other hand was less thrilled, visibly shaken and trying not to panic at suddenly being carried away. Rapidmon darted through the streets so fast that Henry was sure he'd swallowed a few bugs on the way. At least he didn't have to worry about suing smoke bombs at this speed.

* * *

Yamaki looked around the street in silent anger and frustration. More of those things had just made their way into the Real World. And once again, Hypnos was powerless to do anything about it. The QRF has been dispatched more easily than ever before, and none of them would even be alive if it hadn't been for the intervention of those kids. They used smoke to help the injured escape, while their own monsters distracted the attention of the larger ones.

He'd been trying to quit smoking for some time, but he couldn't stop himself from fiddling with his lighter - flicking the lid open and shut repeatedly. Something about the noise helped him think. What was going on here? Was this just a game to them? Did these kids not realize how serious the situation was? He needed to report back to HQ and prepare a cover story. That is, if he could even think of one.

This was on too big a scale to report as a freak accident and too small a scale to call a natural disaster. That was when he noticed a nearby security camera at the nearby building. They were screwed if any of the footage survived and leaked out. He suspected another long night ahead and Hypnos had its work cut out for them.

* * *

Kyubimon turned into the park just in time to regress back to her small frame of Renamon, letting Rika and Juri climb off before they fell to the ground. She took a knee immediately, needing a moment to catch her breath as she felt all of Rika's power-ups leave her. Then she noticed a bottle of water enter her field of vision - a gift from Juri. She looked to Rika for some sign of what to do, and took it when she nodded her approval. She was glad too - she was parched and drank it all in one go, "Thank you."

"Any time," she answered. Rika took the lead, "Come on. We'd better get away from the entrance while we wait for goggle head and the others to get here."

"Y-yeah, right," Juri nodded, following just a few paces behind her. Renamon had already done her vanishing act, disappearing to wherever she went to when she wasn't needed. They stopped at the stairs leading up to the shed where goggle head kept his partner, and Rika rested herself against a tree with her arms folded. She noticed Juri fidgeting nervously like she wanted to say something, and she eventually grew impatient with it, "Whatever you're going to say, just spit it out already."

"I was just...um, thinking of something to talk about," she answered meekly, "We don't really talk, y'know."

Rika frowned, recalling that she wasn't the most sociable person anyway and didn't know how to talk to girls her own age, "Let's just sit in the quiet for a little bit."

That didn't stop Juri from continuing to fidget, and Rika sighed, "What?"

"I...um...well," Juri paused, reaching into her backpack to produce a sock puppet. She slid it into her hand and held it out to face Rika, looking away and speaking while moving its mouth, "Juri thinks you and Renamon were really cool back there. You were awesome."

Right. She forgot that this girl would do this sometimes, as weird as it was. She unfolded her arms and asked, "What's with the puppet?"

"The superintendent says what Juri can't," the sock puppet answered. Rika couldn't believe it. Was she really supposed to have a conversation with a freaking sock puppet of all things? She clicked her tongue, "Well, superintendent. I'm not in the mood to talk to you right now. If Juri has anything to say to me, she can say it."

"Woof."

And that was the straw that broke the camel's back.

"Okay, I'm not doing this," Rika snatched the sock puppet out of Juri's hand, "What's your deal? You're not a coward, otherwise you would be running from all the fighting digimon like everyone else is. Are you just crazy? You gotta be. Because you don't seem to have a problem talking to anyone else."

Juri looked away sheepishly, "I...only really talk to Takato. I don't say much to the others."

"Huh?" Rika had to seriously think about that. Did she really only talk to the goggle head? Birds of a feather, she supposed. He wore those dumb things on his face and she loved to talk with the freaking puppet. She tried to think of times when Juri openly spoke with the others and was surprised to realize that she couldn't think of any. Then she remembered the book she'd read. There was no way Juri knew what she was up for against Takato if he was who he said he was, "Why the goggle head?"

"I don't know...but it's not like that or anything," Juri answered quickly. Rika rolled her eyes at the idea of anyone actually liking goggle head. The last thing she wanted was to talk about the goggle head in that sense. If anything, she'd warn him. But when all the others were here so that she wouldn't have to explain herself again. So she brought it back to Juri for now, "Okay, then what's the deal with this puppet?"

"I...um...well..." Juri paused for a moment, until Rapidmon slammed into the ground beside them. He released Henry, Xiaochun and their dad before regressing to Terriermon. That didn't stop the little girl from squealing, "Yay! Again! Again!"

"Yeah! Again! Do it again!" Calumon added. Terriermon flopped back onto sidewalk and groaned, "No thanks. I think I'm going to nap now."

"Aw," Xiaochun and Calumon whined. Henry waved at the two girls calmly, "Glad to see you made it alright."

"Likewise," Rika nodded, noticing his dad had begun pacing anxiously around Terriermon. It looked like he was just as lost for words as Juri was when it came to anything. With every step, Henry grew visibly more worried until finally his dad asked, "Has Terriermon always been alive?"

"Y-yeah," Henry answered sheepishly, scooping up his partner to protect him from his dad's increasing predatory inquisitiveness. His dad's tone was more curious than dangerous. Like he'd been given a puzzle that he was trying to solve, "So if he wasn't a doll you stole from a girl-"

Rika noticed Juri fidget at that statement.

"-then where did he come from?"

"Would you believe from out of my computer when I first played that game you got me?" Henry answered rather sheepishly. His dad shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, "So he's only been around a few weeks. How?"

"From my perspective, I was in the Digital World one second and here the next," Terriermon answered, cracking open just one eye so he could get a look at Henry's dad. Henry's dad continued to stare at Terriermon in disbelief, "I don't understand though. How did all of this happen?"

Henry needed a second to take a deep breath before answering, "We've been trying to figure that out. We already know why they're coming here - they want Calumon because he's some kind of power source in their world and they need that power because there's some kind of danger in their world that needs defeating."

He gestured at the little guy in Xiaochun's arms, and Calumon waved excitedly, "Hello."

His dad grunted, "That's not what I meant. I mean...this was all a kid's toy franchise! From a book! Based on a computer program some friends and I made up in college."

Rika turned over to look at them now, finally curious about what they were saying. Henry asked, "Dad, what are you talking about? You've seen the digimon for yourself! This is all real."

Henry's father sighed and went on to say, "No, no. See, Henry back when..."

His dad paused like he was giving consideration to something before stating, "No. We'll talk about this when the rest of your friends get here. I want to be sure they're all safe before I get any of you involved in this."

"Gee, doesn't that sound familiar," Rika rolled her eyes and made sure they all knew that she disapproved. He was talking exactly like goggle head and the last thing they needed was another goggle head running around. However, she was no different for keeping something to herself. She wanted to wait for the others to get here but decided against waiting any longer, "Since we're here, there's something I need to tell you guys."

She had their attention now as they waited for her, "I found a copy of the original book of the Digimon novels. It's a lot different from the one that became a show. A lot different…it's almost a different kind of story. But that's not the important part. The important part is this: if Takato really is who he says he is, we can't trust him."

"Why not?" Henry asked, his dad even curious now. Rika frowned, "It'd take some time to explain and I'll tell you guys about it later. What's important is we can't trust him or anything he says. I don't think he's going to betray us or turn on us, but I don't think we can count on him to help us either if things go south. But don't tell him I said that. Got it?"

She made sure to look at Juri when she said it, worried the girl might let something slip. They all nodded but Juri took a second longer than the others. It seemed everyone but Henry's dad was going to be cool about this. Before anyone could ask her any questions about what she'd just said, Growlmon came running in with Takato, Kazu, and Kenta on his back. All three boys leapt off as the digimon finally returned to his smaller form, "I'm tired. I'm hungry! Takatomon, can we eat?"

Kenta looked back down at the entrance to the park, "Was this a good idea? What if someone calls the police? There's no way nobody saw Growlmon."

Takato seemed unconcerned and remarked, "What cop is going to go after a giant red dinosaur when there must be hundreds of people calling in monster sightings right now? They'll follow a ton of false leads and miss us. As long as we weren't followed, I think we're safe."

Kazu nearly shouted in frustration, "Okay, well what about those crazy government guys!? The ones with the guns who were shooting at those Devas?"

"That's a good point. All the more reason to go hide in the shed now before anyone notices us!" Takato pointed ahead and hurriedly tried ushering Guilmon on. He stopped to ask Henry, "I'm guessing you don't want Terriermon to hide out here now that your dad knows?"

Henry vaguely nodded and Takato hurried on without him, "Right. Be back soon."

An awkward moment followed as Henry's dad commented, "Your friend is an odd one."

"He's just like that. It's better not to think about it," Kazu explained.

* * *

Impmon made his way through the park, leaping from one tree to the next to get as far away from the angry digimon as possible. He enjoyed watching the humans fleeing for their lives, mostly because it was funny to watch these strange creatures become aware of their own mortality. He was a little envious of their carefree life, and wished he could've been born into such a life. But he also didn't forget what that carefree life brought - laziness, child like bickering, and a refusal to cooperate. In a way, it was as bad as living in the Digital World.

He sighed as he scampered along until he felt something staring from behind him. He ignored it at first, hoping it would go away on its own as he continued moving. When it didn't, he decided to let it chase him into a trap. He would show it what happens to anyone stupid enough to follow him. As he came upon an open area with only a single light post, he turned and fired a single fireball into the trees, "Bada Boom!"

The fire ball hit the tree branch he was just on and set it aflame, forcing whoever was following him to leap out to safety. A strange monkey digimon wearing a fez, "That wasn't very polite, now was it?"

"You's the one who's bin followin' me," Impmon retorted angrily, "Who are ya!?"

"My dear little rookie, I am a Deva," the monkey announced with all the bombast of a clown. Impmon turned his head and asked, "Okay, what is that and why should I care? Some kinda musician with an ego? Also, what's with the stupid hat?"

"Oh poor, naive, stupid Impmon, that is a diva. A Deva is a servant to the lords of the Digital World," the monkey replied, "My name is Makuramon."

Impmon turned his head, unsure if he was supposed to know that name or be impressed by it. This monkey must've had a screw loose. That was fine by him, he didn't want anything to do with this digimon anyway. He turned to leave when the monkey shrieked, "Are you ignoring me?"

"That's one word for it," Impmon answered, making sure to present his middle finger for the monkey to see. The monkey clocked his tongue angrily, "You insolent little...I'll make an example out of you so that all will know what happens when you insult the Devas! Primal Orb!"

It threw a ball of light at him and Impmon dodged to the side to get out of its way, "If'n it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you's got! Bada Boom!"

He whipped another small ball of fire at the monkey, hitting his mark and watching the branch go up in flames. Bulls-eye! Impmon smiled with satisfaction until he heard a mocking giggle behind him, "Mayhaps you underestimated me."

"What!?" Impmon sounds around to see Makuramon standing there with a wide smile on his face, "Allow me to give you a lesson in combat! My hands move faster than your eyes!"

He started throwing punches which Impmon was just barely able to dodge until the monkey took a cheap shot and swept his legs with his tail, "But you should have been watching my tail!"

Impmon landed flat on his back, and the monkey crushed his chest by stepping on it. The wind rushed out his mouth and pain burned through his torso. This was it. He was going to be absorbed. That was the way of the Digital World. He looked up and saw Makuramon's smile. But for some reason, he wasn't deleting him. Why?

"Just end it already," Impmon spat out at the monkey, prompting him to ease off, "Now why would I do that? I am a Deva after all. Absorbing you would barely adjust my strength in any way. I'd get stronger by doing my morning stretches. My simple, pathetic Impmon, you're so pathetic that the effort I'd spend to end you outweighs both the benefit and the joy I'd get out of it."

"You said pathetic twice. Running out of words?" Impmon stuck his tongue out at the monkey for mocking him, preferring death to whatever this was. Then the monkey smiled, "But worry not my precocious Impmon for I may still find some use for you."

Impmon rolled his eyes, "Sure, whateva you say."

The monkey stepped off Impmon's chest, but he was in too much pain to think about getting up. For such a small monkey to cause that much hurt, he was either heavier than he looked or stronger. The monkey bowed and went on to add, "So what would you say to helping me help you?"

"What?" Impmon raised an eyebrow, turning his head slightly to get a better look. The monkey smiled, "What do you know about a group of human children and rookie level digimon working together?"

* * *

Henry couldn't help but feel ashamed at the state of the shed when they were all gathered. His dad had been there for less than a minute and was already disgusted at the smell, the hole in the center of the floor full of bread, and the piles of what he hoped was exclusively Guilmon's business in the corner. Henry's dad adjusted his glasses, "Please tell me you guys don't make your home here. It's unsanitary!"

"It wasn't my first choice for hiding places," Takato answered, while Henry could only sheepishly add, "And I was pretty sure you wouldn't believe me if I said Terriermon was real."

"I knew something was wrong from the moment he showed up but I never expected this," his dad replied, "And all you kids are involved in this?"

"You bet! And we've been doing a pretty good job if I say so myself," Kazu jumped on the chance to finally tell someone all about the digimon, until Kenta added, "You mean they've doing a good job. We don't have digimon like they do."

Kazu grunted disapproval, folding his arms and shooting a nasty look at Kenta, which he didn't even notice. Henry scratched the back of his head anxiously, noting the look of expression of exasperation and bewilderment on his father's face. He wanted to ask what was wrong but was unsure how to phrase the question without getting himself into trouble until Xiaochun asked, "Daddy, why do you know about digimon?"

"Know them? Sweetie, I created them!" his dad blurted out. Henry felt his jaw drop open, and everyone else in the room did the same, looking at him with faces that shouted ' _why didn't you tell us?_ '. He didn't know. He never knew. There were so many questions running through his head right now, "Why didn't you tell us dad?"

His dad could only offer a half shrug, "I didn't think it mattered. It's not like I've been involved with it since college. Digimon aren't what they used to be when I was in college."

Takato interrupted skeptically, "You didn't make digimon. You _couldn't_ have. The Digital World...digimon...they've been around for millions of years. I know time dilation sis happen, but no time dilation could explain that."

"You're a millennia old being from another world. Now isn't the time to be skeptical. Especially not you," Henry pointed out. Henry was sure his dad was about to give Takato the scolding of his life and was amazed to see Takato was calm about this. Never mind that his tone was rude, his dad was going to let him have it. Only he didn't. His dad just scratched his head, "The Digital World's not thousands of years old...I mean, computer programs run cycles that are faster than anything we could ever experience. I suppose that means time moves faster there. But that's besides the point. Digimon are only a couple of decades old."

"No, we aren't," Renamon appeared from nowhere to offer an opinion, to the surprise of his dad, "I know of digimon who exceed your age by millennia."

Henry could feel the tension rising as Renamon advanced on his dad. And why wouldn't she? She probably just heard the equivalent of being told the earth was flat! His dad might be intimidating to him, but he was sure no digimon was ever going to be intimidated by the man. Henry quickly tried to change the subject, "When exactly did you make the digimon, dad?"

His dad sighed, massaging his neck as he thought of where to start, "It's a bit of a long story so I'll try to be as brief as I can. I was in college in the 80's, some friends and I began work on an artificial intelligence project for our masters program. We created artificial intelligence capable of learning from its environment and adapting, then we attached the artificial intelligence into a program that simulated a predator-prey nature cycle. A real time, simulated food chain. Artificial selection. It was a marvel at the time: the individual programs were assigned to be either predatory or prey and were given the ability to reproduce. They also were given the ability to adapt - modify their own source code to give them better chances of survival and pass those modifications on to offspring. It was like watching evolution on fast forward. The simulation began to heavily favor some life over others. So we introduced a new program into the mix, one that would give minor boosts to disadvantaged life forms that encountered it to facilitate their survival. Think of it as a _catalyst_ for evolution."

The mere sound of that word made Henry look at Calumon. He noticed everyone else was looking at the little digimon; poor Calumon looked bored out of his mind like he wanted to be anywhere but there.

His dad went on, "It was beautiful! The different groups began to diversify at rate we'd never seen before, specializing in one trait or adapting new ones to give themselves an edge in survival. The breakthrough in artificial intelligence gave us quite a bit of prestige and attracted the attention of some high level government officials interested in using the program for defense purposes. That went nowhere, but the idea ended up inspiring the digimon franchise - books, toys, card games, a tv show, computer games."

"So what happened to the project?" Takato asked. His dad's expression soured after that, "We had to shut it down in the end because the government classified our project. We were all sworn to secrecy, although I guess that doesn't matter anymore. Before we did, we noticed a problem in the environment. The diversity began to plateau, sort of like it hit a glass ceiling, because some species were so well adapted that nothing could stand up to them. So we introduced a balance modifier, a program whose function was to maintain balance by culling programs if they were too powerful and too many - it helped maintain the artificial biodiversity. We called it Data Reaper or D-Reaper for short."

"Now it's all starting to make sense," he heard Takato mumble, taking a step towards the back and scratching his chin. Henry's dad sighed and went on to say, "But that was a long time ago. All the computers were confiscated by the government when the program was shut down. What I'm having trouble understanding is how this led to actual digimon coming to our world."

"What's there to understand?" Terriermon asked with a great big smile, "We exist. You made us. Is that weird?"

"It's just that! You're data! Lines of codes. A bunch of ones and zeroes on a computer. You shouldn't be able to exist in our world and yet here you are," Henry's dad gestured to Terriermon, "I'm sorry to ask this and I'm sorry if this comes across as too forward but I would like to have the chance to examine you in my lab at home. With your consent of course."

"Hah! Phrasing!" Terriermon said all too gleefully, his dad adjusting his collar uncomfortably at some joke he didn't understand. Henry patted his partner's head, "Moumantai, right? Why do you want to examine him, dad?"

His dad adjusted his glasses and looked at Terriermon more closely, "I'm curious. I have a question and I want to-"

"Takatomon, where are you going?" Guilmon asked aloud. Henry looked over at Takato fiddling with his digivice over the shed door, "I'm trying to turn on the scanner on the digivice. We need to find the Devas who ran."

"What? Are you looking to fight them now?" Rika asked incredulously. Henry couldn't believe it either. Takato had said everything was starting to make sense but he still didn't get it. Takato shook his head, smacking his digivice in frustration as it refused to cooperate with him, "This tech is so...frustrating. I'm not going to fight them, Rika. I'm going to talk to them."

"You keep trying to talk to them and it never works! So for once, will you come up with a plan where we don't talk first!" Rika pointed a finger at him. For the briefest moment, Takato looked up with a glare that made even Rika flinch, "No. I'm not going to fight first. If I can talk to them, explain, we can settle all our problems without taking any more lives! If you want to go around killing digimon, then that blood is on your hands. Because I do not want any on mine! Not any more. If the D-Reaper is coming back, if the Digital World is in real danger from it, then we need every digimon we can get to fight back against them!"

Kazu was the first one to answer, "Wait, you think the D-Reaper is the danger in the Digital World?"

Takato nodded, "It makes sense, doesn't it?"

Renamon frowned, "Enlighten us. How exactly does any of this even begin to make sense?"

Takato shook his head, "Come on, Renamon. I thought you were the clever one. At the very least, I thought you or Rika would be keeping up. Then again, Juri was the first one to hear Kari's name."

Renamon managed to retain her calm demeanor as she answered, "Are you suggesting that this man is right? That he created the Digital World - _My Digital World -_ and that everything I know is a lie? That my world is only twenty years old?"

"Why not? Anything is possible right now. Time is convoluted - twenty years in the Real World could be an eternity in the Digital World," Takato answered quickly, "Nothing is a lie at this point. Besides, if the Devas are willing to take us to the Digital World - we can see for ourselves first hand what this danger is."

"What?" Calumon answered first, followed by a chorus of confusion and surprise from the others. Henry had to admit, Takato had walked into this head first when he suggested all that. Especially since he was the one saying not to give Calumon to the Devas. Terriermon was the only one not surprised, because he was too busy admonishing Takato, "I thought you were crazy when we first saw you, and it's good to have some confirmation on the fact that you're insane."

"No, you're right. Guilmon and I should go by ourselves. That way, we won't all walk head first into a trap," Takato corrected himself, somehow missing the point of Terriermon's statement. Kazu wasn't one to pass up an opportunity to see the Digital World in person, "Are you kidding? Takato, if you're going to the Digital World, then I'm coming too! There's no way I'm passing up the chance to see it!"

"You've got to be kidding," Rika began massaging the bridge of her nose, "Goggle head, he's saying it'd be stupid to walk right up to them after we just fought them. They were trying to kill us a few moments ago! And Terriermon over there killed one of them! They'll attack us as soon as they see us!"

Takato nodded as if he understood what Rika and Terriermon were pointing out but Henry wasn't so sure about it. Before any of them could get another word in, his dad spun Takato around to face him, "None of you are going anywhere! You're just kids!"

"Hasn't stopped us before and I think we've been doing a good job, all things considered," Takato answered with a shrug, "Also, kid? I'm pretty sure I'm older than you."

Henry wasn't sure how his dad was going to answer that and, thankfully, it didn't look like he was going to try. He just powered past it instead, "You need to leave this to the proper authorities!"

"The proper authorities were the guys with the guns shooting at the Devas earlier," Takato countered, "And most of them would be dead if we weren't there. I think it's safe to say the only option for the world is us."

Henry saw the pained expression on his dad's face, the kind of look he had when he had to make difficult choices. He was definitely trying to come up with another reason why they shouldn't be involved in this. It didn't take him long to have something, "What about your families? Your parents and siblings? They'd be devastated if anything happened to you!"

That seemed to unnerve Kazu and Takato, but Rika seemed annoyed at that, "You're barking up the wrong tree there. My dad walked out and my mom is too busy with her fashion career to actually care about me. And I'm an only child."

His dad frowned, "They're still your family. You shouldn't throw yourself into danger like that."

"He's right," Takato frowned, finally agreeing with him. Kazu was quick to call him out, "Come on, are you serious? Now you have an issue?"

Takato looked up at Kazu seriously, "Sorry, I always forget about the family side of things. That's my fault. But remember how I said this was going to be dangerous? I wasn't lying. And you've seen it for yourselves. We probably shouldn't be keeping this secret from our parents, at least. All of us."

Henry marveled at the irony of this statement coming from him. He was probably the last person who should be saying any of that, especially since he had the most secrets of any of them. Then he remembered what Rika said. Don't trust him or anything he said. She hadn't explained why either and that bothered him.

* * *

Juri walked back home with Kazu and Kenta, going their separate ways from the others while Takato stayed behind a little longer to make sure no one followed them back to the park. As they made their way through the chaos on the streets, she finally took in the shock of what had happened. Aside from some property damage, it seemed next to no one was seriously injured. It was nothing short of a miracle. But that just reminded her of what she would have to do - tell her parents. She wasn't even sure she had a right to tell them about it since she didn't have a digimon partner. She probably should have been the last person involved in any of this. If anything, she wasn't sure her family would be concerned for her if she went off to the Digital World or continued helping the others. She wasn't exactly close with her step mother and her father didn't approve of the fact that she hadn't tried to like her.

"I guess it's about time we told our folks," Kenta frowned, massaging his arm like he was trying to hide his guilt over something. Kazu groaned, "Come on dude, not you too."

"I'm just saying," Kenta threw up his hands defensively, "We both saw the same thing with those last couple of Deva! This is dangerous and serious! People almost died! Next time, it could be one of us. Henry's dad is right. And so is Takato, apparently."

That's right. Kazu and Kenta didn't know what Rika had told her. But she wasn't sure she believed it herself. Takato had said he was trying to be more open and honest, although he was keeping some things to himself. And that anger he'd shown briefly was…different from how he normally acted. She was snapped out of her thoughts when Kazu nudged her, "Come on! Juri, back me up here!"

Juri shook her head, "Sorry, I was thinking about something Rika said."

"I wouldn't let anything she says get to you. I don't," Kazu countered until Kenta pointed out, "That's because you basically annoy her any time you talk. If I were you, I'd just keep my mouth shut."

"Whatever," Kazu folded his arms behind his back. Juri's gaze shifted downward, "It's just…Rika said she found a book by the author of those books. The original book. She said that the story it was told was different from the original story. And that one thing was clear: we can't trust The Digimon Tamer. I mean, Takato."

Both boys were quiet after what she said and didn't even seem alarmed by it. That worried her even more. Until Kazu misunderstood her meaning, "See! Even she agrees! We shouldn't tell our folks! If she doesn't trust Takato, she's not going to listen. Which means she won't! And I'm not either! How about you Juri?"

She hesitated long enough for Kenta to point out, "I still say we should. It's only the right thing to do."

The right thing. Why did the right thing have to be so hard?

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** The kids are off to tell their families! Probably. Poorly kept secrets appear to be a theme here! How will their parents react? How will the Matsudas take the news about Takato? And what of the Digidestined? Find out all this and more on the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out in two weeks on July 5th at 5 PM CDT! If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. And don't forget to follow the story to keep up with the latest updates and favorite to show support! I've also recently set up a tumblr where we can meet and talk at the-digimon-tamer. That's all for now, let's look at previews for the next chapter!

 _Juri sat quietly at the dinner table, fiddling with her rice and contemplating if she should actually tell her parents. Her stepmom was too busy feeding her baby step-brother to notice she wasn't eating. Her dad on the other hand did notice and asked, "Eat up Juri. You need to eat."_

" _I'm not feeling very hungry," she replied, "May I be excused?"_

" _Well at least eat your rice," her stepmom pointed at the half eaten bowl of rice, "It's not healthy for a girl your age to eat so little. Are the other girls making fun of your weight?"_

 _Juri wasn't sure what to say to that, but she did know she hadn't felt ever felt self conscious about her appearance until now, "Do I look fat?"_

" _No, of course not," she replied quickly, assuring her that her step mom thought she was fat. That didn't help her at all. Juri wanted out of this conversation now and pushed her plate away, "I think I'm done eating now."_


	19. The King and The Droid

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 19: The King and the Droid**

Juri sat quietly at the dinner table, fiddling with her rice and contemplating if she should actually tell her parents. Her stepmom was too busy feeding her baby step-brother to notice she wasn't eating. Her dad on the other hand did notice and asked, "Eat up Juri. You need to eat."

"I'm not feeling very hungry," she replied, "May I be excused?"

"Well at least eat your rice," her stepmom pointed at the half eaten bowl of rice, "It's not healthy for a girl your age to eat so little. Are the other girls making fun of your weight?"

Juri wasn't sure what to say to that, but she did know she hadn't felt ever felt self conscious about her appearance until now, "Do I look fat?"

"No, of course not," she replied quickly, assuring her that her step mom thought she was fat. That didn't help her at all. Juri wanted out of this conversation now and pushed her plate away, "I think I'm done eating now."

"Not until you eat young lady," her father insisted, sliding her plate of food her way. She sighed and shoved a spoonful of rice into her mouth, before pushing it away again and getting up to leave, "Thank you for dinner."

She hurried upstairs to her room, ignoring her father calling after her until she was upstairs. Once she was in her room, she threw herself face first into the bed and buried her face into her pillow. Part of her felt guilty for not telling them, but somewhere in the back of her mind was the knowledge that it didn't matter. All it would do is make them worry and she wasn't worth worrying over. Life...had a way of giving her the short end of the stick.

* * *

Zhenyu Li looked at Henry from across the desk in his office, trying to process everything that had happened earlier that day. It all seemed like a terrible dream, knowing that his work as a college student was now affecting his family. As he waited for the computer to finish loading the appropriate programs, he attached some custom made scanning equipment he built himself and reflected on everything he'd learned.

His son came back from his camping trip, only to have to run off again because he was...friends with a digimon. And they were fighting to save the world. He and his son always had the easiest time talking to each other but, for the first time in his life, he felt like his own son was a total stranger to him. And Xiaochun. She was involved in all of this too. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to be impressed or amazed that the little girl was actually able to keep a secret with how talkative she was.

After a while, he broke the silence between them, "Henry...no, Jiangliang. If I hadn't stumbled onto you two, would you have ever told me?"

His sone was quiet, and he couldn't blame him. Then he answered, "I didn't want you guys involved. I saw what happened to Terriermon during his first fight. He almost died. I didn't want him to fight. But if we didn't...it would just mean someone else would get hurt. So...I figured it'd be best to just keep you guys out of it."

"But you told Xiaochun," he pointed out calmly, trying to avoid losing his temper. His son nodded, guiltily admitting, "We needed someone energetic enough to keep up with Calumon. And I didn't want her to freak out if she saw Calumon start walking and talking. That digimon's too hyper to keep quiet for too long. So I told her. Believe me, I wasn't too keen on it."

From the way the little Calumon was prodding everything in the room with his fingers, he wasn't surprised. Which brought up another issue: the rest of the family. He turned to Henry, "When are you going to tell the others?"

"Tomorrow," he answered sheepishly, "It's been a long day and all I want is to eat dinner and go to bed."

That was fair. It had been a busy day for the kids. Once the computer finished loading, he asked to borrow his son's 'digivice' and set it on the scanner. Right away, the scanner identified its electromagnetic spectrum as off - more specifically, it was not resonating as if it were any known material in the world. Whatever it was made of, it wasn't from this world. Then another window opened, perhaps prompted by the scan of the device, that began displaying code. Computer code. His eyes widened in surprise as he read through it, Henry and Xiaochun peering over curiously, "What is it, dad?"

"Just some strange code. It doesn't look like anything malicious. Scanning the device probably triggered a launcher to read the code," he rattled off without thinking, realizing his son was probably just barely following him and his daughter was completely lost. Now even the digimon were curious, reaching their hand into the scanner and watching with bemusement as their hands became ghost like. Calumon laughed, "It tickles."

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you," he warned, "We have no idea what'll happen. It won't affect us as humans but digital beings...anything could happen."

The digimon leapt away like they'd touched something hot, and Xiaochun giggled. He continued reading through the code when he noticed something. It was subtle at first, something so innocuous that one could glance over it without noticing. But once he doubled checked, he was sure he recognized the code. It was just a signature left by whoever programmed it. Except he recognized the signature: it belonged to an old friend of his and a colleague on the college project: Shibumi. But he hadn't heard from him since the project shut down. He'd assumed the man had dropped out of college in grief. To think his signature would be on this. Was he involved? His mind raced with the possibilities when he heard his wife call for dinner. It would have to wait. He shut the program down and returned the digivice to his son.

Once dinner concluded, Jianling and Xiaochun excused themselves to her room. He assumed it was for digimon related reasons. He was about to barge in when there was a knock at the door. He needed time to consider how he was going to approach his two kids about their digital friends, as well as the code from his old colleague. He decided it would be better to deal with the door until he was sure he wasn't going to start screaming at them. Oh how wrong he was.

On the other side was another familiar face - one he hadn't seen in a long time although he wished it would've stayed that way. Yamaki stared back at him with his sunglasses that obscured his face and that damned black suit of his. He should've known. If his kids were involved in his college project, then so was he. Well he would be damned if Yamaki got anywhere near his kids. He frowned, "Hey, Zhenyu. Long time, no see. How have you been?"

"What do you want?" he replied with just a mark of bitterness. Yamaki seemed unperturbed, "Is that a way to greet an old friend?"

"You took my college project, turned it into a government defense program, then shut it down before we could see what would become of it," Zhenyu replied, barely hiding any of the harbored resentment about that. Yamaki smiled for the first time he had ever known the man. It was unsettling to see, "That's exactly why I'm here. May I come in?"

"No, you can't," Zhenyu opened the door just enough to slip out of the apartment, and closed the door behind him. He wanted to be sure this asshole had to go through him before getting anywhere near the door, "What do you want?"

"I'm sure you've already pieced together what's happened based on the news," Yamaki began softly, trying to remain calm despite what he was about to say, "There's going to be a press conference about it tomorrow. The whole situation is getting out of hand and our top expert was seriously injured working on a project to contain this mess. So we need to get to the next best thing - the makers of this little project."

"You didn't want us involved any more. Go clean it up yourself," Zhenyu answered with a scowl, about to go inside. Before he could even try to open the door, Yamaki blocked the door, "Don't forget what happened. The number of dead children. It's getting out of hand. We're containing this as best as we can but we can't do it on our own any more. And when that happens..."

He paused, obviously reading Zhenyu's reactions through those shades of his. Then he added, "I've heard you've gotten married since then and had kids. You don't want what happened in the past to happen again, do you? A lot of parents buried their kids that day."

Yamaki was right. Something Zhenyu hated to admit. Jianliang and Xiaochun could die if they got any more involved in this. And no parent ever wanted to bury their child into the ground. He hadn't forgotten from the first time it happened. But something about that bothered him. He remembered it happening clear as day. So why were the appearance of digimon surprising to him now? Especially when it only happened a year ago? Thinking on it gave him a headache that was piercing so he massaged his temple and tried to focus on the matter at hand, "What do you want from me?"

"If you're interested, then come to the metropolitan government building tomorrow. We're going to have the first meeting," Yamaki replied, "You'll be doing the right thing if you come."

He let go and Zhenyu retreated back inside, making sure to slam the door extra loud. He massaged his temple as he tried to sort the memories out in his head. They were crystal clear - digimon attacking...hundreds of children dead...the clean up in the aftermath...the world appearing in the sky...they were all there! So why did thinking about it feel like someone was driving an axe through his skull? And why did he remember it being just another normal work day?

* * *

It was hard to tell how long Juri lay face down in her bed, wishing she'd had the guts to tell her parents. But she couldn't - she was sure they wouldn't care anyway. She stirred only when she heard a soft rumble outside. It sounded like thunder, and she hurried to her bed side window to see for herself what it was. It had been clear skies earlier that evening but it was foggy now, the stars hidden behind a blanket of clouds.

When had it gotten foggy? She peered as hard as she could into it but saw nothing. Wait, there was something. Something big and it was moving fast. That was when it dawned on her that fog appeared whenever digimon were crossing over to their world. There was a digimon out there. She panicked for a moment as she tried to figure out what to do. She would need to get Takato, Rika, or Henry. But how was she supposed to get any of them without going out there herself? She couldn't. But she couldn't do nothing either. She panicked, mind racing as she thought about what she should do. What she had to do.

She hurried back down stairs, taking care not to be noticed by either her dad or step mom before going outside into the fog. It was surreal to feel unsafe in her own neighborhood but she had no choice here. She needed to be out here if she was going to alert the others. She peeked out past the gate to make sure it was safe before hurrying on. Once she was sure there was nothing else out, she opened the gate and took her first step outside.

RAARRRRGGGHHH!

She froze at the sound of the roar, fear overriding her ability to move. That sound came from just ahead of her. But that was the way to the others. Maybe she could find another way around?

"GATLING ATTACK!"

"FIST OF THE BEAST KING!"

There was a flash of light ahead, followed by a fireball coming her way. Juri knew she had to get out of the way, but her legs were still frozen in fear. This was it. This was what destiny had planned for her. She was going to die here.

"LOOK OUT!"

A large figure appeared just in front of her and deflected the light with the broad side of a sword. For that brief moment, the light illuminated her rescuer just long enough for Juri to get a good look at him: a giant lion wearing only black pants. He must've been twice as tall as her dad, and he certainly scared her as much as him. The lion looked over his shoulder at her, and she let out a small squeak as he fixed his gaze on her. Then he looked ahead back into the fog, "Enough, Andromon! You almost hurt an innocent!"

Andromon. At least she had a name to call it now. The fog was starting to thin a little enough for her to see ahead at who he spoke to. Its shape was vaguely humanoid, beneath layers of metal and wires. Altogether, it resembled a robot with a laser cannon for an arm. The android grunted, "Observation: You interfered!"

"You attacked!"

Its eyes started to glow a harsh red, "Counter: I need to find the digimon tamer. Stop interfering with my search, Leomon."

The digimon tamer. Juri looked from the android to the lion, wondering if they meant Takato, Henry, or Rika. But why would they be looking for them? They weren't Devas, were they? She noticed the lion sigh, "Andromon, even you have to understand the dangers of jumping from world to world. We're not the Sovereigns. We're not even Devas. I want to save our world as much as you do, but this is too dangerous!"

They weren't devas. But what were sovereigns? Was that important? In fact, now that she thought about it, these digimon were different. They were actually stopping to talk to each other instead of just attacking everything in sight. Maybe these guys weren't dangerous. At least, she thought so until the android made a sound like grinding metal which she assumed was meant to be a snarl, "Query: If it was so dangerous, then why did you follow me? Conclusion: you're either a hypocrite or a coward who can't do what needs to be done."

The android's cannon clicked and whirred, until a long metal blade emerged from the deep within. It raised the blade and declared, "Suggestion: Stand aside."

"Ancient technology is dangerous if used improperly! You need to return it before we cause more damage!" Leomon retorted, looking back over his shoulder at Juri, "You might want to leave, kid. It's going to get dangerous."

"Um...are you a good digimon?" Juri asked, finally managing to get her mouth to work. Leomon roared his reply, "Go! Now!"

Juri was still frozen in place, too scared to run away properly. This also gave her a great view of a fight as she watched the lion and the android leapt at each other with their weapons drawn. They crossed blades several times, taking turns to strike or parry the other's attack but neither was able to deal a decisive blow. The two were clearly experienced, casually trading words as easily as they traded blows, "We need to return to the Digital World before we cause any lasting damage to this one!"

"Observation: We're in the human world! Conclusion: If we can't find the digimon tamer, then we can at least help find the Catalyst!" Andromon responded bitterly. Juri gasped as she realized they were after Calumon. That couldn't be good. She turned around, intent on finding another way to any of the other's houses as the two digimon continued to duel. She reached the end of her street and turned the corner just to see the fight had followed her. Andromon was pushing Leomon back.

"Query: Don't you understand, Leomon? I have to do this for the good of all digimon!" Andromon shouted, swinging his blade and scratching the side of Leomon's face. The lion howled, stepping back and raising his sword defensively while Andromon countered, "Declaration: First blood is mine. Please don't make me continue, old friend."

Leomon held the cut on his side, wincing in pain while countering, "That's why I'm continuing! Because we're friends. Crossing over to this world may do more harm than good."

"Statement: If we find the tamer, they can fix it," Andromon replied, "Plea: I don't wish to fight but I will if I have to."

The two charged at each other again, pushing past her and continuing on. This was her chance to get past them. She turned and hurried towards Takato's house. He was the closest and he always seemed to have more ideas than the others about what was going on. She ran as fast as she could just to Andromon be thrown past her, rolling along the ground until he stabbed his sword into the ground to catch himself. He used the moment of the roll to turn himself upright and returned to a defensive posture. Juri would've been impressed if she wasn't caught in the middle of this fight with nothing more than just a deck of cards in her pocket.

Andromon readied his weapon, pressing forward towards Leomon while holding his side, "Observation: Operational capacity at 94 percent. That was a good blow. You're learning to guard your blind spots. Counter-point: You still haven't learned follow through!"

He charged forward with his weapon raised. Juri gasped, realizing the android was charging straight at her and raised her arms up in defense. The android seemed to realize his mistake and managed to stop his charge just short of her, "Insult: You coward, Leomon. Using a child as a shield!"

"Me? You're the one who charged in blindly!" Leomon protested from just behind her, "Don't you get it, Andromon? You're too rash! You charged in without thinking and almost hurt the girl."

Juri felt herself be picked up and looked over to see Leomon holding her with one arm. He set her down on the sidewalk and said, "And I thought I told you to get out of here! It's not safe, kid."

Juri nodded, trying to be thankful but really just being fully confused now. The two of them bickered like an old married couple. Andromon even grunted, "Query: Are you trying to play the hero when you're the one who stood behind her in the first place?"

"Don't read this for anything other than what it is," Leomon replied, pointing his sword at Andromon, "She was in trouble and I helped save her."

The android grunted and charged again, the two clashing blades to try and finish the other off. Maybe they weren't so different from the Devas after all. Juri tried to use this chance to run past, hoping to safely escape their brawl and get help. As soon as she rounded the corner, she bumped straight into Takato and Guilmon. Takato caught her before she fell backwards, "Sorry about tha-Juri!?"

He helped her stand up and quickly let go, stammered out, "What're you doing here?"

She answered as quickly as she could, "Getting you! Two digimon just popped up outside my house and-"

She wasn't fast enough - Leomon came flying past again and rolled along the ground, stopping just short of crashing into another wall, "A fine parry, Andromon. But this will end with the next bout."

Andromon raised his sword, "Statement: Agreed. I will end this without taking your life old friend."

Juri wasn't sure what possessed Takato to do it but he suddenly raised his voice, "Or, and this is just a thought, maybe you could try talking this out? Y'know, without the weapons and trying to kill each other? Just a thought. I mean, that's what I do when I have a disagreement with friends."

Both Leomon and Andromon stopped what they were doing and looked at him curiously, still keeping their weapons drawn and minding their distance to each other. Leomon asked first, "Who are you?"

"Takato," he replied plainly, strolling up to the two of them and placing a hand on their weapons. Then, as if in defiance of all expectations, he lowered their swords and asked, "What are you guys fighting about anyway?"

Both Leomon and Andromon examined the boy as he proceeded to guide their hands into putting their weapons away. Guilmon followed along and started sniffing them, "Friends?"

Both digimon became uneasy as Guilmon continued to sniff them as Takato went on, "I mean, it's the middle of the night and you guys are causing all this racket. It's a miracle you haven't woken up the neighborhood! I mean a midnight brawl!? I'd fancy a snack myself."

"Our affairs are none of your concern, Takato," Leomon replied coldly. He turned to Andromon, "Are you ready to return to the Digital World?"

"Negative," Andromon replied, "Mission is the same: Find The Digimon Tamer and return him to the Digital World. Priority: Absolute. Digital World in danger. Threat Level: Absolute."

"Absolute," Takato repeated mockingly, "Absolute what? Madness? Coz your not wrong. Who goes to another world just to pick a fight? Just stay in your own world. You don't waste the time. How'd you even do that?"

Leomon thumbed at Andromon as he answered, "Not that it's your business, but Andromon over there used Ancient technology to travel to this world. I tried to stop him. That technology is too dangerous to be left around...Wait, why am I telling you any of this? You probably have no idea what I'm talking about!"

"I have an idea of what you're talking about but it's probably wrong. Trouble in your world so you came here to find a solution," Takato replied nonchalantly, turning to Juri, "That sound about right to you Juri?"

She was still trying to process what she was seeing. Takato's luck appeared to be changing since he successfully convinced two more digimon to stop fighting. Granted these two digimon were different from the others, it didn't change the fact that this hadn't happened before. Eventually, she managed to nod and Takato looked back at them, "So Leomon, did I get all of tha…hang on a minute. Weren't you dead? Like…didn't you die? Or am I remembering that wrong? Puppetmon killed you."

Leomon frowned, crossing his arms and turning to Andromon, "That was a different Leomon. The real Leomon. Can't say the same for him. He's _the_ Andromon - The android created by the Ancients to protect their technologies and servant to The Digimon Tamer himself."

"Correction: I do not serve The Digimon Tamer. I serve the Agents, of which The Digimon Tamer is the sole remaining member," Andromon started monotonously. Leomon sighed, "So you do serve the Digimon Tamer."

Andromon grunted disapprovingly and looked back at them. It was actually kind of funny in a disgusting sort of way. The digimon turned on Leomon, "Declaration: I will continue my mission now. Stand aside."

The two looked ready to get their weapons out again. Juri gasped and Guilmon started growling at them; a fight was about to start with Takato in the middle of it. But instead, Takato called out to get their attention, "You're looking for a digimon tamer, right? What if you already found one?"

"Clarify one," Andromon demanded. Takato clapped his hands together excitedly, "Well, we've got three already and another two who are definitely looking for a partner! I've already got Guilmon, Rika has Renamon and Henry has Terriermon so-"

"Query," Andromon interrupted, "Are they _the_ digimon tamer?"

"Yes," Takato answered with a pointed finger. Andromon gave no reply. In fact, his silence suggested he had no idea how to answer the question. He became perfectly still. It was like he'd been turned off. Juri took a step forward, waiting for a response. When nothing happened, she stepped closer and poked him in the side, "Is he okay?"

"He's processing," Leomon frowned quietly, "Whenever he's presented with information that's…not wrong or…how do I phrase this? He needs a moment to make sense of a confusing answer."

Juri had no idea what that was supposed to mean. She looked at Takato who answered, "Think of it like this: what's the true color of the sky?"

"Blue," Juri answered quickly until Takato answered, "Then why's the sky red when the sun sets?"

She blinked. He was right. The sky was red when the sun set. And kinda purplish too. He snapped his fingers and answered, "What just happened to you is happening to Andromon but in a more…complex way. Just give him a minute."

Juri looked at Andromon who still hadn't moved and felt sorry for the guy. What exactly was going through his head? She thought about his question and Takato's response. He asked if they were the digimon tamer, and Takato replied yes. It sounded like that thing Renamon talked about. So did Andromon mean _a_ digimon tamer or _the_ digimon tamer? She looked back at Takato who had finally grown impatient and snapped his fingers in front of Andromon to get his attention, "Hey, you okay?"

"Processing," Andromon replied. Takato turned back to Leomon, "How did you get here again?"

"Ancient technology in Andromon," Leomon pointed at the android's arm and lifted it for them to see. He opened a panel and Juri saw a myriad of wires, cables, flashing lights, and other assorted electronics she'd never seen before. But that wasn't the weird part. It was the fact that the inside seemed to go on forever despite the size of Andromon's arm. It was…bigger on the inside. It didn't help that Leomon managed to fit his whole hand inside the panel and pull out something that resembled the broken old digivice Takato had. He explained, "It took him a long time but Andromon was able to retrofit himself to act as a gate - giving himself the power to go back and forth between worlds. The problem is…we weren't sure if it was going to work or if it would blow up the Digital World when he used it."

A look of joy crossed Takato face, and he beamed up at Andromon and Leomon, "This is it. We can use this and go to the Digital World!"

His excitement quickly turned to panic as he pushed the digivice back into the panel and closed it shut, "That is very not good! We need to get off the streets as quick as possible."

"What's wrong?" Leomon looked at the boy frantically starting to push him and Andromon forward. Takato spoke quickly, "You are two digimon standing out in the open in the Real World. We need to go before those crazy government shooty guys show up!"

Leomon seemed to finally understand and turned to help move Andromon. They just barely managed to make it into a nearby alley when several white vans pulled up in the dark. Men wearing hazmat suits jumped out, obscured by the bright flashlights they equipped on their rifles. Juri immediately threw her hands up while Takato jumped in front of them all, "Wait!"

It was too late. Guilmon was already growling, ready to go on the attack and Leomon readied his swords. One of the men called out, "Minimize collateral damage. Single fire only! Don't hit the kids! Take 'em down!"

"You won't lay a hand on these children!" Leomon roared, pushing both Juri and Takato behind him. He drew his sword and readied it, "I'll die before I let any harm come to them!"

"Activating Emergency Jump!" Andromon finally spoke. Suddenly, she was blinded by a bright flash of light and several loud bangs. Then she felt the sensation of falling, followed by something hard hitting her. She'd been shot. She knew it! She was dead. This was it. This was how she died! Not like this! Not like this! She didn't want to die! Not yet!

"Juri!"

She opened her eyes as soon as she felt someone shaking her from the shoulders. It was Takato, with a relieved look on his face, "It's alright. Everything's fine. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" she replied, taking a moment to compose herself. She was lying on the ground now, and it was pitch black out. No, there was sun light. A little bit of sun, not a lot. But enough that she could start to make things out, "What happened?"

Takato took a look around, "I think Andromon tried to open a gate to the Digital World to get us out of danger. Instead, we landed at the park where I hide Guilmon."

"I…huh," Juri looked off to the horizon, at the rising sun, "But, why's the sun coming up? It was almost midnight!"

"I think it also threw us several hours into the future. That's kinda dangerous. Let's not do that again," Takato answered uncertainly, helping her stand up. She dusted herself off and examined her surroundings to be sure. They were definitely in the park. As far as she knew, they were thrown into tomorrow morning. Then she noticed Andromon and Leomon beside them. Andromon was busy tinkering with the open panel on his arm and Leomon was helping him, "Maybe if you try rerouting power?"

"Power is not the issue," Andromon responded, "Key components are damaged, requiring either repair or replacement. Scan indicates this world's technology is not on par with necessary tech. Parts cannot be acquired in this world. We are stuck in this world."

Leomon grunted at the news, folding his arms and turning to Takato, "It would seem that we are in your care then. Takato, correct? You said Guilmon is your partner. Are you a digidestined?"

"Not even close," Takato answered quickly, going over to have a look at Andromon's panel, "Repair isn't going to be easy. We'll need a place for you to lie low. There is the shed but…never mind, bad idea. I really should clean that thing out one day."

"Yeah you should," Juri agreed, looking up at Leomon thankfully. He didn't know them but he'd jumped in the way to protect her so many times. She was a little embarrassed by it too. Leomon looked at the pacing Takato, "Who were those men? The ones who shot at us. Why would they do that?"

"No idea, but they keep popping up," Takato answered quickly, still examining Andromon's arm carefully. Eventually, he sighed and closed the panel, "Yeah, there's nothing we can do about that."

Andromon examined Takato carefully, "Query: Who are you?"

Takato looked up at the large digimon silently before answering, "You know who I am. I'm Takato. I said that already."

Andromon stared back for the longest time before finally answering, "Scans do not sugg-"

"Guys!" Henry called out from behind them. They all looked over their shoulders to see Henry hurrying along with Terriermon and Rika just behind him. Henry called out, "We've been looking for you guys all night! What happened?"

"That's…kind of a long story," Takato replied sheepishly, looking back at Andromon and Leomon as if hoping they would offer some kind of assistance. Instead, they stared down at him silently as if they were expecting more from him. Rika sighed, "Well you better start talking because we want to know what happened. We got to you guys just as those crazy people with the guns showed up. Then there was this flash of light and you were gone. We spent all night trying to avoid those guys while finding you. So what happened?"

Juri raised her hand to offer up an answer, "Leomon and Andromon showed up outside my house, fighting each other. Takato managed to get them to stop."

"Surprise, surprise. It worked for once," Rika spat out in shock, looking from Takato to the two giant digimon in disbelief. Juri wasn't sure how else to explain it to them, because she was still having a hard time believing that Takato had finally managed to get some digimon to stop fighting and work together. Leomon put a hand to his chest and explained, "I am Leomon, and this is Andromon. We're not here looking for a fight, just to save our world."

Rika placed a hand on her hips, "You and every other digimon since the Devas started showing up. So why should we believe you?"

Andromon beeped out in his monotone, "Response: Because if we wanted to fight, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Observation: she's not smart."

"I think she's one of the smartest people here. At the very least, she's observant," Takato replied matter of factly, before crossing his arms, "Now where to hide you guys? The shed's out because you're just too big for it. Maybe the access tunnel?"

"It is big enough," Henry thought until Terriermon laughed, "So they're just supposed to hide out in the tunnel all day?"

"Negative. Mission Critical: Locate _the_ digimon tamer," Andromon said again, turning to walk away until Takato ran in front of him, "I'm right _here_!"

Andromon scanned the boy carefully, seemingly disbelieving of Takato's claim, "Scan complete. Data inconclusive. Further evidence required."

"Then how about this?" Takato held up his old digivice, the one he claimed once broken. Andromon looked at it for a long time before answering, "Scan complete. Identity verified. Greeting: Digimon Tamer, it is good to see you again."

Then the oddest thing happened. The mechanical man bowed, as did Leomon, "It's an honor to meet you."

"Hey, what's happening?" Terriermon asked, looking to the others for some kind of explanation. Unfortunately, none of them had one. Takato looked back at them, "I already said, didn't I? My name is The Digimon Tamer. But Takato works just fine by me."

"So...should we be bowing too?" Henry asked. Rika maintained her adversity, "I'm not bowing."

Renamon's answer was more conflicted, "I feel like I should out of respect…but every bit of data in my body wants to be sick at the idea."

Takato shrugged, "I'm right here y'know. Not bowing is fine though, I don't particularly care for it. Do you mind standing up? It's starting to get embarrassing."

Andromon straightened out his posture, "Query: if you are the Digimon Tamer, why didn't you say so when I first said I was looking for you?"

"That was the old me. New face, new rules, new likes and dislikes," Takato answered matter of factly, "That and I wasn't sure I could trust you at the time. Not until I saw the Ancient tech that was built into you. If you had ancient tech, that had to mean I could trust you. Otherwise, you might've been one of the digimon trying to kill me. And that'd be a whole 'nother problem I don't want to deal with right now."

"Digimon are trying to kill you?" Henry asked. Renamon nodded, "The Digimon Tamer is said to have made many enemies. There are plenty who would like to hang his head over their mantle."

Everyone suddenly felt uneasy standing next to Takato like this. Andromon seemed satisfied by his answer, and Takato looked at the rest of them with a big innocent smile. Juri thought back to what Rika had said - not to trust him. He said he was trying to not keep so many secrets and he'd kept the part about digimon trying to kill him secret. Although, it was the more like he'd just neglected to mention it instead of lied. But didn't that count as a lie? And between that, finding out he wasn't the _real_ Takato, and learning that the names she'd been calling her teacher was wrong, she began to wonder just how much of the world she'd come to live in was not as it seemed. Then a thought occurred to her, "Wait, we've been out all night!"

"Yeah we have. Our parents are going to kill us!" Henry picked up Terriermon and turned to leave, "We'd better get going before we end up in trouble."

"Speaking of parents, have you guys told them yet?" Takato asked, looking specifically at Rika when he asked that. She frowned, "No. And stop looking at me. It's freaking me out."

"That's good," Takato said, crossing his arms seriously, "Because, full disclosure, I'm not going to beat around the bush with Kari any more. I'm just going to flat out tell her and hope the revelation of multiple converging realities doesn't overwhelm her brain. Worse case scenario: her brain permanently rejects the idea in self-defense."

"Wait, is that what happens?" Terriermon gasped, his jaw hanging open. Takato shrugged, "Well yeah. Anything a brain can't process, it either correlates with something it can process or ignores it. She's had experience with digimon before so this shouldn't be weird to her."

"But why now?" Rika asked, watching Takato as he began pacing, "You had plenty of time to tell her before. And you never did. So why now?"

Takato's gaze looked downward, "I was trying to open her eyes slowly. But the risk is getting too great. Between the Devas and everything else going on, someone needs to stay on this side and protect the Real World because if we fail...one of the few things I can remember from my old life is they're the back up plan. They're the ones who'll save the day when I'm not around. And they haven't been doing that. It's about time we found out why. I hope you don't mind, but we're going to have a team meeting at your place tomorrow."

"Wait, what!?" Rika blurted out in shock. Takato raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Why do you think? Your mom is a part of this too. If I'm going to tell Kari, I might as well tell her too."

"This is going to end well," Rika smiled devilishly. Juri had a worried feeling in the pit of her stomach, wondering what Rika knew that she wasn't sharing.

* * *

Yamaki sat in his car, listening to the report from the QRF. Those kids were there again. Worse, they'd disappeared in a flash of light with the digimon as they were called. There were issues in place that needed resolution. Thankfully, most of the Monster Makers seemed willing to come back and help. All of them except for Zhenyu. Finding them was the easy part - trace their lives through the system to their current addresses. It was convincing them that was the hard part. And it wasn't hard to press the right buttons considering some of them had kids of their own.

Once he finally found the will to get his car started, his phone rang. He was annoyed at the timing - the last 24 hours just wouldn't stop rolling with the punches. He let his car stay in park as he answered, "Yamaki."

"Boss, it's Izumi. He's awake," came the voice of the agent on the other side. If Yamaki believed in hope, he felt a small glimmer of it in his heart somewhere, "I'm on my way. Keep him conscious. I want to talk to him as soon as I get there."

"Yes sir," the agent replied, hanging up. Maybe things were going to work out after all. Maybe things were starting to look up. The idea brought a small smile to his face. He knew better than to do that.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** What will Koushiro say now that he's awake? Is Henry's dad going to join Yamaki? What will the others say when they see Leomon and Andromon? Find out all this and more on the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name which is due out next Friday July 12th at 5 PM CDT. Let me know what you guys thought in the reviews section. And if you loved it, don't forget to follow the story to keep up with updates and favorite to show support! And don't forget to stop by the tumblr at the-digimon-tamer for updates, announcements, or just to chat. That's all for now, let's have a look at a preview for chapter 20! That's all for now so let's have a look at previews for the next chapter!

Kari set her stuff down on her desk and turned to face the class. It wasn't hard to miss the dazed looks on some of her students: Juri Katou, Hirokazu Shiota, Kenta Kitagawa, and Takato Matsuda. Takato especially. Like they'd been up all night even though they'd spent all weekend camping. She sighed and picked up her lesson plan to start the day's lesson. She would handle her students after class. But that didn't stop her from fixating on Takato, although she tried her best not to.

The idea that her brother had been just a few feet in front of her after all this time weighed heavy on her. She had so many questions she wanted to ask him. Not the least of which was why he never said anything. Then she remembered how the last time they'd met, he said she wouldn't recognize him. How she shouldn't wait for a brother who isn't coming back to return. But that would have to wait until after she confirmed it.

After what felt like the longest day, she dismissed her class but made a point of announcing, "Except for you Takato. We need to have a talk."

There were a lot of oohs from the rest of the class - kids being kids when someone got into trouble. It didn't help that he remarked, "That's okay! I wanted to talk to you too!"


	20. New Meets Old

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 20: New Meets Old**

It was around eight in the morning when, Yamaki walked into Izumi's hospital room. The lead scientist was sitting upright in his bed, chowing down on a tray of hot food: steamed rice with spam, a bowl of miso, some eggs, and a cup of fruit. It looked like he woke up just in time to get an order in the breakfast menu, and he could only imagine how hungry the man must be after being out for so long. The bewildered agent assigned to guard him was on the far end of the room, trying to ignore the munching noises of the ravenous Izumi as shoveled the food into his mouth. In fact, the man hadn't even noticed that he was in the room. For a brief moment, Yamaki wondered if he was even aware that he was missing a leg. He knocked on the door to get the man's attention before closing it.

"Izumi, it's good to see you're awake. We need to talk," Yamaki greeted, taking care not to rush the issue.

"Did you close the gate opened by the Juggernaut?" Izumi asked first. Gate? What gate? He probably meant the juggernaut. At least he wasn't going to dance around the issue. Yamaki ran a hand through his hair, "That's what I'm here to talk about. The Juggernaut program worked only briefly. But now, there are more of these wild ones crossing over into our world. And they're larger and more aggressive than ever. We don't have the means to contain this. At this point, it's the world's worst kept secret. What the hell happened?"

Izumi sighed, putting down his spoon and fork in a disgruntled fashion. He was obviously famished, having gotten by off IVs for the entire time he was unconscious. The scientist then removed his blanket to show the sorry remains of his leg. He appeared smaller without his leg, but seemed so much more dangerous for it. Only Izumi could've pulled off a threatening look from a missing leg.

The surgeons did a good job cleaning up the amputation, but he was obviously agitated about it and didn't hesitate to let Yamaki know, "THIS happened. I haven't seen my wife or daughter since you dragged me into this...program...this government bullshit. Months of my life dedicated to something I wanted no part of, and now my leg is gone! I almost died! You want to know what happened? You tried to control something you couldn't and you dragged me into it!"

Yamaki maintained his composure, waiting for Izumi to finish venting before saying anything. It seemed the computer scientist had a back bone after all. Once he calmed down, Izumi spoke more calmly, "The technology I used to build the juggernaut wasn't from this world. It was from theirs. The Digital World. Technology from their side. But it's written in a language that I barely understand with a level of technology I've only scrapped the surface of. Do you know how much more advanced they are than us? We needed a whole building and the city's power grid to do something they needed a device the size of a pocket watch to accomplish."

Izumi paused and Yamaki waited for him to catch his breath, well aware of Izumi's love of rambling, "The juggernaut...it doesn't just remove digimon from our world. It opens a gate into the Digital World and creates a special kind of electromagnetic field. It was the only way I could guarantee that it would only affect digimon and not humans. Once the digimon get close enough to the gate..."

Izumi paused, "You know what happens. But there's a catch to this method - gates work both ways. And when...whatever digimon came through, it left that gate wide open. So whatever problems you're having are because that gate is wide open and letting any of the big ones through!"

Yamaki had his explanation now. Then Izumi went on, "But the method I used to open that gate was messy. I got the idea from someone else a long time ago. They brute forced open a gate between worlds, too. But that method tore a hole in reality and destabilized the worlds around us. It was only by a miracle that we didn't all die, then and there."

"What are you saying?" Yamaki, alarmed by whatever Izumi was trying to say. Izumi looked up grimly, his voice shaking as he spoke the next line, "I'm saying that we're lucky it's only been digimon coming through and not anything else. I don't know what other worlds it might have blown open a path to, but I can guarantee that it's only a matter of time before something else shows up. And you better pray we can do something about it."

The air felt heavy all of a sudden. Yamaki didn't like the implications of what he'd heard. They were having enough trouble with the wild ones. He frowned and urgently asked, "When can you return to work?"

"When?" Izumi gestured at his leg, "Are you going to get me a wheel chair and a team because I'm not going to be able to walk around any more. And you better believe I'm not coming back just like that, either. I'm pissed."

"I saved your life!" Yamaki reminded him, only to be met with, "You ruined it!"

"The world is in danger," Yamaki pointed out and Izumi spat back, "If it's a world where I can't see my wife and daughter, I don't give a fuck."

It was then that Yamaki knew what he wanted. It was a hard ask but he was walking a very fine line as it was. The minister of defense and the Prime Minister were hounding him for results. Not to mention the fact that there was supposed to be a press conference about all of it later. The cat was practically out of the bag at this point. He had to deliver. With a heavy sigh, he replied, "You can see them as soon as you're cleared to be discharged."

"Fuck that noise," Izumi said, pushing his bedside table aside and adjusting himself in bed to face the exit, "We're going now."

* * *

Kari set her stuff down on her desk and turned to face the class. It wasn't hard to miss the dazed looks on some of her students: Juri Katou, Hirokazu Shiota, Kenta Kitagawa, and Takato Matsuda. Takato especially. Like they'd been up all night even though they'd spent all weekend camping. But when she thought about the chaos that followed their return, she couldn't help but be anxious. If she'd spent all of the afternoon dealing with rampaging monsters, she'd be burn out too.

That would have to wait until later though. She sighed and picked up her lesson plan to start the day's lesson. She would handle her students after class. But that didn't stop her from fixating on Takato, although she tried her best not to.

The idea that her brother had been just a few feet in front of her after all this time weighed heavy on her. She had so many questions she wanted to ask him. Not the least of which was why he never said anything. Then she remembered how the last time they'd met, he said she wouldn't recognize him. How she shouldn't wait for a brother who isn't coming back to return. But that would have to wait until after she confirmed it.

After what felt like the longest day, she dismissed her class but made a point of announcing, "Except for you Takato. We need to have a talk."

There were a lot of oohs from the rest of the class - kids being kids when someone got into trouble. It didn't help that he remarked, "That's okay! I wanted to talk to you too!"

There might just be trouble in this case. Any time her brother showed up, it was because the world was in danger. And after seeing all these digimon running around on the news, the fact that she hadn't been to the Digital World in years or seen Gatomon in some time. And if he wasn't her brother, then that just meant he was about to announce some crazy plan of his to cause trouble.

She waited by her desk as Takato came up to her, holding his backpack in both hands and looking so dazed that he was probably going to to fall asleep standing up. At least until he was up in front of her. Then he suddenly appeared alert and awake. He appeared to swallow a lump in his throat and asked, "So what's up, Miss Kamiya?"

She wasn't sure what to say now. The possibility remained that he wasn't The Digimon Tamer. How would she phrase it and not sound crazy? No, the whole thing was crazy. She sighed, "Is there something you'd like to tell me?"

He paused, "Actually yes, there was something I wanted to tell you. I was hoping I wouldn't have to beat around the bush too much but I'm running out of time so I needed to-"

That was enough for her, "Tamer?"

He paused, then the smallest of smiles drew itself on his face, "Oh, good. This saves me a couple of steps. When did you figure this out?"

It really was him. The Digimon Tamer was here. She often wondered what she was going to say to him when they met again. But nothing she could think of felt right. But any emotion would've been robbed by the fact that there were other things they had to worry about. She closed her eyes, drawing a deep breath, "I started to figure it out after that thing with the snake in the subway. You've been gone a long time and there's a lot to talk about."

She paused for a moment before adding, "For starters, why didn't you tell me?"

"I spent the first few months in this body in a daze. I didn't really realize what was going on until I was already here. Besides, would you have believed me?" Takato looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "Not to mention my memory's are fuzzy after reformatting. I remember a talking cat, clothes, a stage...and...a nice lady?"

She thought about it and it came back to her. The night of her college graduation, Matt had given her tickets to a return concert his band was doing. After the concert, they ran into a boy in ill fitting clothes who was rambling about nonsense. It was hard to forget, especially since he passed out the moment after Gatomon opened her mouth. The memory brought a smile to her face, reminding her of better times, "I think I remember that. It was after my college graduation. Matt played a song at his concert for me. Afterwards, some kid appeared back stage. He was really loopy and out of it. He passed out after Gatomon talked to him."

"That was you?" he asked before bursting into a laugh, "I see you did alright. Graduated from university, became a teacher like you wanted."

She returned the smile, realizing that they'd run into each other quite a while before now. But this wasn't the time for memories. There were things to do, "The others will want to see you. There are big problems: the digimon-"

He interrupted her, "I know. I'm working on it. Well...we."

"We?" she asked softly, alarmed by his choice of words but recalling that there were others kids involved. Two from this school and another girl she didn't recognize.

He still continued to smile that stupid goofy smile of his. Even after all this time, he still had that smile and the knowing look in his eye. Then she thought about his friends: Juri, Kazu, and Kenta. They all looked exhausted today. Even more interesting, she noticed them standing just outside the classroom through the hallway window. Of course they were there. She looked back at Takato, "Did you drag them into this?

"No," he shook his head calmly, "Well, not intentionally. I didn't pick them and I have no idea where their digivices came from. Whoever is doing this, it wasn't me. For most of them. For the rest of them, it was because I can't keep my mouth shut. Although, in my defense, this new mouth apparently can't keep a secret. Which makes it a miracle I didn't tell you sooner."

She stared at him in disbelief, wondering how much of what he said to believe.

"So what's going on?" she asked, wondering just how much he actually knew. He shrugged, "The same thing that's always happening: reality is compromised, worlds that shouldn't be touching each other are, and I'm stuck trying to fix it all. The big difference is I have an arm tied behind my back m because my head is still kinda fuzzy all the time and my old digivice broke and I can't figure out how to use the new one. It makes things more interesting, though. Check this out!"

He fiddled through his coat pockets and produced the oddest thing. A new digivice. One that made no sense to her - it looked kind of like her modified digivice only more centered. Then he began excitedly explaining, "They're real marvels if I'm being honest. They have a lot of the same features: scan, digivolution, possibly open gates to other worlds - still can't figure out how - OH! And these have card readers in them! And the cards modify digimon! It's really cool. It's kinda...I don't know, not stylish like the old one. You can't beat a classic. I'd modify this one if I could figure how it works but it's like someone made a banana but had only ever heard of a banana. So when they tried to make it yellow with a hard skin, and a flavor not everyone likes - they made a lemon. And that metaphor doesn't really work. Forget the banana and the lemon."

She found herself smiling at everything he said. She wanted to be upset. To be angry. To feel some kind of insult after he'd continued to keep his secrets. Then he put it away, "Never mind me, though. I'm doing fine. Kind of...where are the others? I've been trying to track them all down but this world has made it too...difficult to concentrate."

"We're meeting up later at Mimi's," she explained, "You can come with me."

His face lit up excitedly, "That works out for me just fine because we were going to have a team meeting with her daughter. Real quick ask, if you don't mind: do they go by any weird names right now?"

"Weird names?" she repeated quietly, blinking in confusion. No, that wasn't the important part right now. She shook her head, "Wait, how do you know Mimi's daughter?"

"It's a long story and I'll explain that part later," he dismissed her, "Does any one else go by weird names?"

She blinked again. It seemed they had a lot more to talk about than she realized.

* * *

Juri, Kazu, and Kenta waited patiently as Takato finally emerged from the classroom with Miss Asaji just behind. Or Miss Kamiya. It was still a weird thing to think about - that their teacher had a completely different name that they couldn't hear until Takato pointed it out to them. It was just...too much to process. He smiled from ear to ear cheerily, "Thanks for waiting guys."

"Students," Miss Asaji...Miss Kamiya greeted them. They all nodded and Kazu leaned in to ask, "Takato, did you open your mouth again?"

"Well yeah. I need to talk. Sometimes to eat. Occasionally to breathe when I'm out of breath," he replied matter of factly, "I haven't mentioned this yet, but we're going to Rika's place tonight."

"Rika?" Kazu repeated, glancing back at her teacher, "Dude, is it alright to talk about that in front of Miss Asaji?"

It still hadn't clicked for him. Juri frowned, wondering if this is what Takato…Tamer must've felt like for months.

"I already know, Kazu," she explained, alarming Kazu, "DUDE! YOU ARE THE WORST AT KEEPING SECRETS!"

Takato waved it off casually, "Don't worry about it, Kazu. Things are mostly under control. More importantly, how would you like to meet the digidestined?"

Kazu's worried expression changed to delight. He was practically bouncing with excitement, thrilled at the chance to meet his own personal heroes. Kenta was a bit more subdued, but she could tell from the way his face had turned bright red from potential embarrassment that he was excited too. He didn't want to look stupid in front of them. Juri wanted to feel happy for them but couldn't muster the energy to feel excited. Truth be told, she was still anxious about a lot of things. Their teacher's real name, telling their parents the truth, going to the Digital World. A lot of this seemed to be happening really fast.

She snapped out of it when Henry appeared beside her, startling her into jump which he quickly apologized for, "Sorry about that. What did Takato do now?"

"Is he a part of this too?" Miss Kamiya asked, pointing at him wearily. Takato nodded, "Yeah, he is."

"Don't drag me into your mess Takato. Whatever it is you did, I had nothing to do with it," Henry threw up his hands defensively, hesitant of whatever was about to happen until Takato insisted, "It's okay, I told her."

"Oh, never mind. Then yes, I am a part of this," Henry gestured to himself and the rest of the group. Takato nodded, "That's right. Now let's go meet the others!"

"The others?" Henry repeated, slowly following Takato's logic until he finally understood, "You don't mean-"

"Dude, we are going to meet the digidestined!" Kazu punched the air excitedly, until Takato covered his mouth and shushed him, "Not so loud. We don't know who's listening and the last thing I want is for another government agent to show up with his gun!"

"Government agents? Takato, what exactly have you kids gotten yourselves into?" Miss Kamiya asked anxiously. It was hard to miss the disapproving look she got from Miss Asaji, especially when it focused in on her. Juri had to look away to avoid cracking under the gaze. Takato waved it off, "Like I said, I'll tell you guys everything once we're at Rika's."

Kazu groaned, "What? Dude, you said we were going to go meet the digi-"

He paused, realizing how loud he was being and lowered his voice, "I mean, you said we were going to meet the digidestined!"

Takato and Miss Kamiya were both looking at Kazu quizzically now and it was his turn to start feeling the pressure. Miss Kamiya pointed at herself, "Kazu…I'm a digidestined. Miss Kamiya? As in Kari Kamiya? That's been my name all year. Did you not notice or do you just not do your homework? You would've had to have read my name every day for months if you were."

Kazu stared at Miss Kamiya quietly, his face stumped by what he'd heard, "Okay, are one of you pulling my leg? Because I'm getting really sick of all this Nami Asaji crap. It was funny before but now I'm getting mad."

"What did he just call me?" Miss Kamiya asked, looking to the others with an equally confused look. Takato groaned, "It's a long story and I don't want to deal with it right now. So, let's head over to the Rika's already!"

Miss Kamiya adjusted her bag and her took the lead for them, "Just as a warning, you kids better behave yourselves while you're there. Don't treat Mimi's like you treat the school."

"I don't recall you being so behaved when you were their age," Takato commented, only to be met with a snide, "How would you know? You weren't there for most of it. Besides, you have a penchant for getting into trouble mister 'brings-a-bag-of-smoke-bombs-to-school'."

Takato promptly shut up. This wasn't the usual scolding he received from Miss Asaji…Miss Kamiya. Their dynamic became less teacher-student and more like the playful banter between two people who hadn't seen each other for a long time. It was odd how quickly they started acting that way. Still, Juri was just glad he was starting to talk to people more.

* * *

Impmon landed with thump, observing the humans as they made their out of the school. The half sized squirt wasn't with them. Which was a problem for him if he didn't find Calumon. He got as close as he could without alerting them to his presence and listened carefully.

"So where's Calumon, Henry?" Takato asked, "Still safe with your sister right?"

"They'll be fine," Henry sighed, "Assuming they don't drive my dad crazy first."

"With his sister and his dad, huh?" Impmon repeated to himself quietly. But where the hell was the sister? It had to have been the little girl with them the other day with those crazy digimon. And going by her age, she was at home. Wherever home was. He'd have to keep a closer eye on the blue haired kid until he was on his way home. Then he'd know where the little twerp was.

"And where is that exactly?" the woman with them. She was new, probably another addition to the ever growing number of humans getting themselves involved in something that wasn't their business. Henry gestured off into the distance, "Apartment complex that way."

Maybe he wouldn't have to wait that long. Impmon shook his head, wondering how these humans kept anything secret when they talked so openly like that. Then again, they were just kids. Well, that would be their problem. Not his. His problem was getting Calumon.

* * *

Rika sat at her desk, finishing up the rest of her homework and cracking a very tired yawn. Because of what happened yesterday, all she could think about was the fact that they were all going to be showing up at her house soon. Those guys with the guns also kept popping into her head but that wasn't as important as far as she was concerned. Once she finished the last problem, she quickly double checked her homework to make sure everything was correct and neatly put back into her bag for school. Then it was off to the races - those idiots would be showing up any moment now and she wanted to be ready for them.

Once she had her deck pouch ready and her digivice, she made her way out to the living room to see her mom had set the dinner table with coffee and home-made snacks. She was tempted to sneak one away and leave but didn't want to get caught by her mom. As much as her mom was consumed with work, she was also a hell of a great cook and knew how to make a lot of really delicious dishes. Just as she was tempted to grab one of the brownies, her mom called out, "Ruki? Is that you? Aw, did you want some of my homemade brownies? Help yourself honey, there's plenty more where that came from."

Rika retracted her hand in protest. She didn't want to take it as an invitation from her mom. She shook her head, "No thanks. What's with all the food anyway?"

Her mom poked her head out of the kitchen, "I have some friends coming over! You might just like to meet some of them."

"No thanks," she turned to head back to her room only to run into her grandmother blocking the hallway back to her room, "Oh no you don't, young lady."

"Grandma?" Rika gasped in surprise as her grandmother spun her around and pushed her back to the dinner table where the snacks were. Her grandmother wagged a finger, "Don't think about sneaking out again tonight, young lady! I know what you did last night! You're staying home today. You can play with your friends later."

"Crap," Rika scowled, trying to get back to her room only to have her grandmother block her at every attempt. Her grandmother added, "Go say hi to your mother's friends. Then you can go back to your room. With me. Because you're not sneaking out again."

Now that she was stuck here, she decided she may as well help herself to some of her mother's brownies. As soon as she heard the first knock on the door, she tried to make her way back to her room only to get blocked by her grandmother again, "No, you don't young lady."

Rika groaned, resigning herself to staying in the dining room. She may not be able to avoid meeting all of her mom's friends but that didn't mean she had to talk to them. And if any of them tried to talk to her, she planned on ignoring them. In a huff, she stuffed her mouth full of the brownies as her mom's first friend came in. Her mom happily offered the man a seat, "I made brownies, cookies, some cake, and anything you can think of! Help yourself! The tea will be ready any minute, Joe!"

"Thanks, Mimi," a dark haired man in glasses smiled, taking a seat in the dining room and helping himself. When he took notice of Rika, he smiled, "Hey there. I'm Joe Kido. You must be Ruki. It's a pleasure to meet you."

She nodded, remembering him from the book and the show. She recalled Joe being something of a worry wort if cautious. He didn't seem either - appearing more relaxed than anything. She stuffed another brownie in her mouth to ignore the man as he spoke, "Your mom speaks very dearly of you. I'm sorry about your dad by the way. I knew them both when we were your age. I gotta admit, it's incredibly out of character for someone like your dad to just disappear on you guys."

She still ignored him, but that didn't stop him from going on, "Not a talker, eh? That's fine. I can do the talking for both of us. That is what I do, after all. You look like you had a rough day - either that or you had a long night and haven't gotten much rest. Y'know, it's not healthy for kids your age to stay up too late. It'll make you short. And I wouldn't eat too many sweets. You'll get a cavity. Or even a root canal."

Annoyed at that remark, she swallowed the mouthful of cookie she had just bitten and asked, "What's your deal?"

He continued to smile at her, "My deal? Well, I'm a doctor and a good friend of your mom. So naturally, I notice things in the world that most others wouldn't when it comes to health. I notice you're kinda tall for your age which is good because that means you have a healthy lifestyle. But if you're not careful, that may not be the case. You don't want to peak as a kid, do you?"

She rolled her eyes, relieved when the door knocked and two more of her mom's friends came in. She recognized them immediately as Sora Ishida, her mom's fashion designer friend, and Matt Ishida, that rockstar/soldier/astronaut husband of hers. The digidestined of love and friendship. One was kind, compassionate and cared deeply for those around her. The other was abrasive and rough around the edges, but she recalled the small rampage he went on when he thought his was brother was hurt in the first book.

Sora hugged Joe, "It's good to see you Joe.'

"Likewise," he hugged her back and nodded at Matt, "How've you been, Matt? Any luck?"

Matt eyed Rika wearily and frowned, "Not in front of her daughter. I don't want to talk about it."

It seemed like he wasn't going to talk to her. That was fine by her. She didn't want to talk to him either, anyway. Joe went on to add, "I saw your new fashion designs the other day. Beautiful work as always, although I think you're getting a little too risqué with some of your men's clothing."

Sora put her hands over Rika's ears and said something she couldn't make out. But she could see Joe's glasses slide down his nose a little while Matt turned his head in shame. Once she removed her hands, Joe adjusted his glasses and snickered, "I hope your fans appreciate what your wife does for you."

"Sometimes I don't," Matt replied. And it didn't take long for the rest of the friends to show up from there - some weird private investigator name Ken Ichijouji and his wife Miyako. But for some reason everyone called her Yolei. Then there was a mustached lawyer named Cody, and some lanky looking cook named Davis who showed up still wearing his apron and cooking bandana. Soon she was surrounded on all sides by a bunch of adults she didn't want to talk who wouldn't stop chatting. She was about to go into the living room when she overheard the one called Davis ask, "So when's Kari getting here?"

"Aren't you married?" Yolei asked. There was a small laugh from the group before Davis reasoned, "Yes I am. And I'm asking because she's the one who wanted us all to meet up."

She moved to the living room and turned on the TV, hoping to drown them out when there was another knock on the door. Davis threw up his hands excitedly, "Finally!"

She heard the door open and a lot greetings happen, followed by a familiar and annoying voice, "No way, we're going to Rika's house?"

It was that stupid guy Kazu. Which meant it was her friends. She got up, relieved to finally have an excuse to not be around her mom's friends when she heard her mom say, "Oh, do you know my daughter?"

Of course Takato had to answer, "We kinda hang out a lot with her."

"Oh, I didn't even know she had friends in her own age group," her mom said excitedly, "Especially not boys. Then again, she always was a tomboy."

Rika groaned, wanting an out of this conversation while she could. She walked out of the living room to meet them, hoping to get them out to her room before things got more out of hand for her. Out in the entry hall were none other than Takato, Henry, Juri, Kazu, Kenta and that weird teacher she remembered from the other day - presumably the Kari Kamiya from the original draft.

"My room's this way," she said to them, gesturing for them to follow.

"Rika, that's no way to talk to your friends!" her mom scolded her only for the goggle head to add, "That's alright. It's weird to us if she's not talking like that. To be honest, I'm surprised you didn't notice yet, Mimi. Rika did, so I figured you would too."

"Notice what? And how do you know my name?" her mom asked perplexedly. Miss Kamiya smiled at her and greeted, "Hi there, Ruki. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Miss Kamiya, but you can call me Kari. I'm a friend of your mom's and their teacher."

"It's Rika," she corrected, keeping her eye on goggle head as he made his way into the kitchen. Then she heard a very loud smack followed by something hitting the floor. She made her way into the dining room to see Takato on the floor massaging his cheek, Matt standing over him with a raised fist. Takato looked up and grimly replied, "I really should've expected that. Hello to you too, M…erm…Marc? No, that's not…Matt! Yes, Matt!"

"What the hell happened?" her mom demanded as everyone else made their way back into the room. Matt pointed at Takato on the floor, "You know he deserved it."

"Oh, is that him?" her mom raised an eyebrow. Before anything else could happen, the cook and the private detective helped him off the ground. With the chef quietly saying, "Sorry about that. He's under a lot of stress. Well, we all are. So…you're-"

"Yup," Takato nodded, straightening himself out, "Sorry, my head's a little fuzzy still so I might get a lot of this wrong. But if I remember correctly…it's…Matt, Skye, David, Yolei, Wotkin…and um…sorry, I can't remember the rest. Head's still a little dizzy."

"I want to say I'm offended but I'm not sure what else I expected," Joe said from the table, taking off his glasses to clean them, "I mean, you're not right, but you did call every one of them by at least one of those names at least once."

"I think I am offended," Davis scratched his head while Matt cracked his knuckles, "I think I'm going to deck him again."

Before anything else could be said, Kazu jumped in the middle of the room and excitedly called out, "No way! It's really you guys! It's gotta be…Sora, Matt, um…Joe…or are you Ken? Wait, you've gotta be Ken, which makes you Joe. Then that means you're Yolei! And you're Davis and Cody and…this is so cool!"

At the mention of their names, each of the adults frowned, and one of them could be heard muttering, "Dammit, Takeru."

Rika frowned. It seemed that the goggle head had told them who they were. Although she was madder at Kazu for his next remark, "Which makes you Mimi! And…wait! Rika! Your mom is Mimi! Your mom is…wow, the apple really fell far from the tree."

She promptly kicked his shin, making him jump in place in agony. Kenta patted the boy's shoulder, "You just can't keep your mouth shut, can you?"

Once he stopped massaging his shin, Kazu looked up at the teacher, "Wait…wait…oh you've…I'm an idiot. You're Kari Kamiya! You're-! Guys! Do you know who that is? That's Kari Kamiya!"

"Oh good, he's finally figured it out," Henry laughed.

"It's like I said. Different worlds, sitting on top of each other causes your minds to process it in a way that makes sense," Takato explained matter of factly, "It's not until you notice the inconsistencies on your own, or someone points them out to you, that it starts to unravel. In his case though, his mind must've been subconsciously trying not to notice. How else could a fan of the digimon franchise like you miss what was right in front of them the whole time?"

Rika barely followed any of that, but she was sure he just called him dumb. Then she heard Ken groan, "Because of course Takeru had to publish his books."

"He asked our permission so it's not like we can be mad," Cody said, quickly adding. Then he noted Henry, "Hello there, Henry. Find your answer?"

"Yes, sensei," he answered, "Don't tell me you're a digidestined too."

"Indeed I am," he nodded, looking back to the rest of the group, "Takeru may not have changed our names but he changed our descriptions enough that most people wouldn't identify us. Besides, before any of us gets mad: I'm a public defender so anyone can look me up, Matt's a rockstar, Sora's a top fashion designer with a huge following, Mimi's got her own fanbase with her modeling and acting career. If anything, Davis is the only who had a bright idea by becoming a ramen cart owner in a city full of ramen cart owners."

"Had to follow my dream," he said matter of factly, "But we can all catch up later. We have serious problems."

"Right, the digimon," Henry began. Matt pointed at him and began, "Okay, seriously Kari. Who are the kids and why'd you bring them?"

"Because this," Henry pulled out his digivice and unzipped his bag so that Terriermon could hop out, "Finally! I thought I was going to suffocate in there!"

Rika did the same and produced her own digivice. Takato followed their lead and produced both of his. Her mom gasped, "Ruki! Have you been a-"

She quietly made her way to the garden door and slid it open. Then she called out, "Renamon! It's alright. Come out."

Her partner appeared quickly, arms crossed and staring into the room, "Rika, are you sure about this? You've tried so hard to keep me secret."

"Oh wow," her mom said. Rika waited for her to say something about how she didn't like her partner being so cold looking but instead heard, "She's gorgeous! Just look at this fur! And that look! So cool. Sora, you have to make a dress after her. Or a jacket. Tell me, Renamon! Who does your hair?"

"Don't ruin this for me, mom," Rika snapped quickly, dragging the woman away from examining her partner too closely, "She's not gorgeous, she's cool! And don't you dare make a dress after her!"

Then Rika noticed that aside from her mom, the mood in the room was somber. All the adults looked disappointed or alarmed and Terriermon sheepishly stated, "Don't all get excited at once. Did someone die or something?"

"Not yet," Ken explained, "The last few months have been difficult to put it lightly."

"Don't you mean weeks?" Kenta asked them all, stuttering like he was about to pass out, "I mean…all this started only a couple of weeks ago."

"I already explained this Kenta. Well, maybe it's time I reexplain this whole mess. Guys! The world is screwed, reality is combining worlds that shouldn't be near each other and it's making time become convoluted," Takato pointed at Kenta before going over to a wall and taking a pencil from his bag, "It may have been a few weeks for us since this whole mess started but it's been months for them. Like I said, worlds sitting on top of each other."

Then he started drawing on the wall - curved lines, wavy lines, straight lines and more that just kept intersecting each other while all going in the same direction, "Time for your world, your version of reality is moving like this. But now it has to occupy space with another world - one similar enough to yours that you miss the little stuff, but different enough that they're not compatible. Then you have the Digital World trying to enter the mix and…well, you get the idea."

"Stop drawing on my wall, goggle head," Rika smacked the pencil out of his hand. She was glad to hear her mom add, "You better clean that up."

Takato ignored her and turned to the others, "Right, any questions?"

"Okay, start that whole thing over again but without the parts where I have no idea what you're talking about," Davis asked with a raised hand, examining the wall with all the focus that Kazu must've put into anything.

"Forget that, what have we missed from your guys side? Eh? You all look well! Except for the sour moods, which I guess is bad."

They all gave him skeptical looks, and Sora asked, "You mean you don't know?"

Ken added, "Yeah, you're usually on top of all this stuff. So either you're lying or we're royally f-…I mean in serious trouble."

Rika knew what he was going to say and said it anyway, "So we're fucked?"

"RUKI!" her mom snapped until Takato interrupted, "No, I'm not lying. Hand on my hearts, blaster to my head. I've been a little confused since getting into this face. I remember I'm supposed to find someone to help me sort it out but I can't remember who. And the different worlds with different destinies sitting on top of each other makes it hard to tell what's supposed to happen at any given moment. Think like being in a party where everyone's talking to you at once. But there's only three people so I guess that's not a party. Forget the party!"

A pause followed before Kazu said, "Yeah, we're just as confused as you guys are about anything he's saying."

"I don't get the two worlds thing. There's our world and the Digital World. What else is there?" Davis asked, examining the lines on the wall carefully, "You mean the Dark Ocean?"

Takato looked at them like they'd all just drooled, "Don't tell me you guys haven't noticed either? Come on! After everything that happened? You don't remember?"

"Explain it again. Slowly this time," Joe asked calmly.

Takato sighed, "Okay, this worked for the others so maybe it'll work for you guys. Mimi! How old are you? Don't hit me, just answer the question."

"Twenty-six," she answered. Rika blinked. That wasn't her mom's age and she interrupted, "Mom, you're not twenty-six. What, you had me when you were a high schooler? Then again…"

Her mom gasped and slapped the back of her head, "Don't make me wash your mouth, Ruki. Of course I didn't. Your father and I…were both out of high school when…wait, that can't be right. I'm…twenty-six. But you're…does anyone else have a headache?"

The adults all looked at each other with alarm. This must've been like what they were doing when Takato broke the news to them. Each of them were quietly scratching their head. Davis added, "That's right…the girls had a baby shower but that was…"

Takato sighed, "Come on. Concentrate. Think about it! Let's try this. Kari, how long ago did you graduate from university?"

"Not that long ago," Matt answered, "She graduated, started teaching at your school. I played a song for her at my concert."

"So you finished your military service since then?" Takato asked. Matt nodded, "You're damn right I did! It was the roughest five…wait…no, I didn't…Sora?"

"I'm noticing it too," she nodded, "When did we get married? We were dating then. But it's only been a few months and…I don't remember you proposing or a wedding or…"

The adults were now all dazed and confused. Rika looked over at Kari who was massaging her head. Takato patted her back and explained, "Two worlds with different paths. Two different truths, occupying the same space at the same time. They can't both be true, and yet they are. Reality is compensating by making two different people the same person."

Kari paused before saying "So what you're saying is-"

"-in another time, you were born Nami Asaji to the Asaji family," Takato answered with a frown, then turning to Rika's mom, "You were born Makino Rumiko. So on and so on. Your lives have become intertwined."

"Does anyone else know what he's talking about?" Davis asked, "Because none of that made any sense to me. I know I'm not the smart one, but this is making my head spin."

"All our heads are spinning," Ken added.

"I think it makes perfect sense," Joe said, "It also explains a lot. But maybe we should compare notes to make sure we're all on the same page."

"AWESOME!" Kazu sat down, "So what happened after the last book!? You guys go to the Digital World again!? I bet you've fought a lot of bad guys since then."

"A lot happened. Mei still barely talks to us after what happened with her," Sora explained sheepishly, "But the broad strokes are that our digimon all disappeared one day and we haven't been able to get into the Digital World to look for them! Around the same time, Takeru vanished and we have no idea where to. Not to mention Izzy ran off without a word. We've all been worried."

"I wouldn't worry about dad. He walked out on us and I don't care if we never see him again," Rika spat out angrily. The adults began looking at her and she realized she was being angry again. She took a deep breath and added, "Still, I'm sorry about your digimon. That must suck."

Sora frowned, "It does. We're worried."

Takato patter her shoulder, or tried to with how short he was, "I'm sorry. Couple of questions: Who's Mei? What do you mean your digimon are gone? And who's Takeru?"

A beat followed where Matt cracked his knuckles and the rest of the older digidestined shifted uncomfortably. Then Takato asked, "Wait, was Takeru the one who wore all the hats? Aw, I liked him."

"Oh yeah? And what about us?" Ken folded his arms disapprovingly. Takato quickly added, "No offense to you guys but he was the only one willing to wing it and go with the flow. Y'know, let destiny sort it out."

Matt slammed his fist on the table, "Well that could've been the reason he went missing so you'd better help us find him."

Takato apologized, "Sorry, sorry. I'll add it to the To Do List."

Matt was already off the desk with a raised fist, looking ready to deck Takato when there was another knock at the door. Henry looked towards it, "Are you guys expecting someone else?"

"No, we're all here," Mimi said, "Hide your digimon. I'll go see who it is."

Renamon was already gone while Henry was busy stuffing Terriermon back into the bag. As soon as her mom opened the door, she heard a soft gasp. Rika groaned and went to go check on her. Why was she running at all the loud noises today? When she got there, she saw a man in black suit with sunglasses pushing another man in a wheel chair. She felt her heart stop in shock at the mere sight of him, "Dad?"

"Hey Ruki," he said with the biggest smile.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** A surprise reunion! How will Rika react? What will happen when Takato is in the same room as Yamaki? And just what is Impmon up to? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out next Friday, July 19th 5 PM CDT! If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section! Don't forget to favorite the story to show support and follow to keep up with all the latest updates! That's all I have for now, so let's look at previews for the next chapter!

 _Yamaki wanted to feel happy for Izumi, finally seeing his wife and daughter for the first time in a long time. However, there were urgent matters pressing in the back of his mind that he knew took precedent over this. And the sooner they got out of here the better. From the moment his wife hugged him, Izumi never once let go of her. He noticed a girl standing in the entry way too - a girl with red hair tied into a pony tail that resembled a pineapple. Presumably his daughter._

 _He'd seen her somewhere before - where?_

 _As he tried to recall, he could vaguely hear Izumi's wife asking where he'd been and what happened to him. He couldn't hear whatever answer Izumi gave, but it made his wife walk up to him and slap him across the face. That cold hard smack was something new to Yamaki - he'd never been slapped by anyone's wife before. Her fury was clear on her face too, "How fucking dare you."_


	21. Always Ours, Never Yours

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 21: Always Ours, Never Yours**

Yamaki wanted to feel happy for Izumi, finally seeing his wife and daughter for the first time in a long time. However, there were urgent matters pressing in the back of his mind that he knew took precedent over this. And the sooner they got out of here the better. From the moment his wife hugged him, Izumi never once let go of her. He noticed a girl standing in the entry way too - a girl with red hair tied into a pony tail that resembled a pineapple. Presumably his daughter.

He'd seen her somewhere before - where?

As he tried to recall, he could vaguely hear Izumi's wife asking where he'd been and what happened to him. He couldn't hear whatever answer Izumi gave, but it made his wife walk up to him and slap him across the face. That cold hard smack was something new to Yamaki - he'd never been slapped by anyone's wife before. Her fury was clear on her face too, "How fucking dare you."

"Mom," their daughter gasped from the entry way, just as her mom raised her fist to slap him again. He was on his guard this time and caught her wrist before she could, "Don't do that again."

This close, he could get a better look at her. She was very familiar, but he couldn't quite place it either. The stress must've been affecting his mind if he couldn't place face right now. Then Izumi called out to his wife, "Mimi, it's okay."

"Your leg is missing," she cried angrily, trying to break her hand free to give him another slap. Yamaki wasn't going to let that happen but stayed on guard in case she did something else. Like plant her shoe firmly where it didn't belong. Trying his best to remain calm, he warned her, "If you want your wrist back, you're going to have to let me go. Or I can take you in for assaulting a government employee."

She still glared at him but she stepped back. He let go of her hand and she took the wheelchair from him, "We're getting you inside. Come on."

Yamaki checked his watch and reminded the man, "We don't have time for a lengthy visit, Izumi. We have a time table to stay on. Keep it short."

He paused when his wife turned to glare daggers into him. He'd seen a lot of things in his time, but this woman was enough to unnerve him. There was...an anger or coldhearted ruthlessness in them. He mused at the old saying 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.' He didn't want to find out what the other end of that fury was, but the fact that she slapped him was not a good sign. Who knows where else she would go if pushed. He checked his watch and added, "Twenty minutes."

"As long as he'd like," she fired back furiously.

He had to stay firm though. No more. That didn't make the daggers in her eyes any less threatening. She eventually turned back around to pushing her husband through the threshold. He had to stay close though and began to follow them inside. The daughter seemed to mind her distance from both parents, which he made a mental note of. Maybe her dad's absence affected her in some way. He felt compelled to ask her if they'd met before, but realized that would come off as really weird and creepy. Then he saw everyone else peering out into the entry way. There was a murmur of excitement and confusion as Izumi was quickly surrounded by what must've been his friends. Then he realized who they were: the digidestined. The ones he'd been having a hard time tracking down.

And worst of all was who was right there with them. That goggle wearing boy in the hoodie. The boy looked at him and smiled, "Oh, it's you. Sunglasses! What are you doing here? And why do you have...was it Dizzy?"

"I could ask you the same question," Yamaki replied, crossing his arms to hide the fact that he was trying to reach for his gun. If this kid was here, that meant the other kids here were also the kids who'd been interfering with his operations. How did he miss this? Of course they were connected! The digidestined had been kids when they got involved in this mess the first time. Why wouldn't there be new kids now?

He paused as he realized how ludicrous that sounded. The 'digidestined' were kids during an event that happened only a few years ago. But as quickly as that concern came, he pushed it out of his mind to focus on his situation. If the goggle wearing boy tried anything again, he intended to pull the trigger this time. Izumi looked at the boy, "Who's this?"

Miss Kamiya replied, "Izzy! This is The Digimon Tamer."

"I'm kinda going by Takato right now," he answered sheepishly, before going to shake Izumi's hand, "I remember you being taller Izzy. Have you done something different?"

"I'm in a wheel chair," Izumi replied rather dryly, turning the wheels of his chair to face Takato. Takato examined him more carefully, "Sorry, memory's still kinda fuzzy. Oh, I see! You lost a leg. That's not really a good look, y'know. You looked better with two. Am I being rude? I'm being rude, aren't I?"

Izumi frowned, examining the boy carefully, "Yes. Besides, if we're talking about appearances, you're the one who's got a whole new face…among other things. It is you, right?"

Takato's smile grew wide, "Yep, reformatted. Head's still a little fuzzy though. There's been a lot going on and-"

"Shut up. We'll talk later," Izumi said calmly, raising a hand to silence the boy. Yamaki was taken aback by how quickly he silenced the boy, unaware that Izumi was capable of showing enough backbone to not only stand up to him, but to a boy who talked down a man with a gun. He turned his chair again to face his wife, staring deeply into her eyes with a longing look. They looked at each other for the longest hand, taking her hand in his and sheepishly saying, "Mimi...I'm sorry for everything. I wanted to see you, I really did. But-"

"We...we can talk about this later," Mimi answered, pressing a finger to his lips, "Welcome home. And go say hi to your mom already. She's been just as worried as I am."

"In a moment," he turned his wheelchair towards his daughter. She'd been oddly silent since they arrived and he wasn't sure what to make of it. But Yamaki wasn't interesting in any of this family drama. He was only interested in Izumi, the rest of the adults, and possibly this Takato kid. He stepped to the side to address Takato only to be stopped by a tall man in a business suit under a trench, "I don't think we've met. Who are you exactly?"

"You can call me Yamaki," he nodded towards the man, eyeing him up carefully. Going by the look on his face, he concluded the man was likely someone worked in the realm of law. He wasn't clean shaven enough to be a lawyer, which meant either private detective. And that meant, "You must be Ken Ichijouji. We've been trying to find you for a while. You're very difficult to find."

Ichijouji had moved a hand inside his coat pocket since he'd stopped Yamaki and that made him nervous. Nervous enough to keep his hand on his gun. Ichijouji was reaching for something, probably his own gun, but he offered a kind smile to calm him down, "A guy in my line of work doesn't live long if he doesn't learn how to disappear or be careful. Would you mind taking your hand off that gun? The last thing any one wants is to make an unnecessary mess. We can talk."

"How about you take your hands out of your pocket first?" Yamaki wasn't about to back down and kept his hand on his gun. He only broke eye contact when Takato called out, "Oi! No killing guys. Come on. We have enough problems without you two trying to see who's the better shot. As far as I care, you're a horrible shot anyway Sunglasses. As for you, Wotkin. I thought you were better than this. When did you start carrying a gun?"

"It's Ken," Ichijouji corrected. The boy smacked his head, "Right, right. Ken. And um…who are you again? I know you pointed the gun at me but I don't remember ever getting your name."

Yamaki could feel the eyes on him now as every adult reacted to that statement. Some were clearly upset, but a handful seemed jealous. He kept his cool and calmly introduced himself, "It's Yamaki."

"Yamaki. Okay, Yamaki," Takato folded his arms, "Why are you here and why are you after all the digimon?"

Yamaki could already feel his problems compounding just from the boy talking. The other adults were looking at him again and one of them asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"That's classified," he answered quickly, wanting to end this conversation quickly. Unfortunately, Takato already began to answer, "He and a bunch of other guys have been running around the city, capturing digimon for some reason. I don't know why though. Also, what were you doing with Dizzy?"

"Izzy."

"That's what I said…I think," Takato paused. Yamaki didn't like being surrounded like this and minded his distance, "The answer is still classified."

"Hang on," a woman interrupted. He hadn't noticed her before but there was no doubt in his mind: this was Kari Kamiya - the only one he was able to track down that wasn't a high profile celebrity. She pointed at him, "I remember you. You were at my apartment. You were talking about national security and a bunch of other stuff that made no sense. What does any of that have to with Izzy? Who even are you?"

"I could tell you if you were willing to cooperate with us," he answered. He could tell they were getting mad at him and he tightened his hold on his gun. Unfortunately for him, Izumi took this chance to join the conversation, "I'll tell you guys. Could I get some of whatever Mimi made though? I can smell it from here and it smells amazing, like always."

"Cakes, cookies, brownies, and anything else you could want honey," Mimi said cheerily, helping to push her husband into kitchen. Everyone filed back into the dining room then, where Izumi's mother gasped at the sight of him. They had a tearful exchange where she berated him for disappearing and worried over his missing leg before finally letting him eat. As Izumi happily took platefuls of cookies, cakes, and scarfed it all down like he hadn't eaten before. Yamaki felt his stomach churn as he watched the man eat, making sure he was in full view of Izumi whenever one of them asked where he'd been and why he hadn't been heard from in a while. He didn't want Izumi to say too much whenever he spoke about the Hypnos Program. Although it wasn't like he could do anything about it with Ichijouji standing next to him. Thankfully, his wife was quick to shut them all down, "Give him space guys! Geez."

"It's alright," Izumi said through a mouthful of food. His wife flicked his forehead and scolded him, "No talking with your mouthful. Did you forget your manners or something?"

He forcefully swallowed what was in his mouth, and set the plate down, "The truth is I was recruited to work for...Yamaki."

He gestured towards Yamaki, carefully choosing his words, "And I'm partially responsible for all this. They wanted me to...help stop the digimon from coming through to our world. I agreed to help them but...I didn't know what kind of project it was. By the time I did, I tried to leave. But they wouldn't let me because of how classified my work was."

The more he talked, the more Yamaki wanted him to stop talking. He took a step towards the man and felt the detective grab his arm. He looked over to see the man still had his hand in his pocket.

"Izzy, what did you do?" the private detective asked, his tone indicating he was at the very least catching on. Izumi's head sank and he buried his face into his hands, "I was trying to manufacture a gate to the Digital World using the technology from our digivices - one that would pull digimon back into the Digital World. But that wasn't their plan. They wanted to kill the digimon and…I had no choice but to finish the project. It worked on test specimens…deleting any digimon that got pulled through. But there was a problem during its first official firing and the machine failed. The wormhole it created between our worlds is still open. And it's why more and more powerful digimon have been coming through."

He had seriously underestimated Izumi. A man like him would've left that part out to save face, but Izumi admitted to it despite all the guilt he felt for developing the weapon. The dark haired boy in the orange vest chose that moment to ask, "You're talking about when the top of the Metropolitan Building blew up, aren't you? That was when the first Deva came through! Mihiramon."

"Mihiramon? I don't know the name of the digimon that came through," Izumi admitted quietly, "Only that it was my responsibility."

Another man was fuming, a short haired blonde man with a muscular build hidden beneath layers of clothing. If he had to guess, this was the rockstar who was also former military - Matt Ishida. The man grunted, "Izzy, you didn't. How could you!? After everything we've been through, you just...did this."

"I'm not proud of what I did," Izumi shook quietly, trying to maintain his composure as he guiltily added, "But this is my mistake, it's my responsibility. And I will fix it."

"No you won't," Takato said sternly. It was odd to see a kid talking to adults so sternly and even weirder to see them actually listening. Takato waved his hands in the air excitedly as he talked, "We need that gate open because we need to go to the Digital World and-"

"Go? Who said anything about going to the Digital World!?" Miss Kamiya interrupted. Mimi added, "That's right! You're not going anywhere without us!"

"I meant when and why," Miss Kamiya explained, "But yes, you are taking us."

"If I can finish!" Takato yelled, pausing as he realized he raised his voice and quickly apologizing, "Sorry, I shouldn't raise my voice. Sorry. Um, we're going soon. As for the why, it to figure out what's going on the other side. Because the real question isn't how do we stop them from crossing over. The question is why? Right now, that gate you just tore open in reality might be our only way to get there and back."

"Not a chance," Yamaki finally interjected, "That hole in reality let through large and dangerous monsters. Izumi is going to close that gate the first chance he gets."

Takato shook his head, "Yamaki, if closing that gate was really going to stop all the digimon from coming through, then explain how they were coming through before the gate opened in the first place."

Yamaki paused. That was why he was recruiting the Monster Makers. But he couldn't tell them that, "That's a separate issue and we're already exploring solutions to it."

"Good, then you won't mind if we keep Izzy here," Takato asserted, "I'm sure he misses his wife and...Wait, hang on. Rika! Izzy's your dad! That just sank in. It's no wonder you noticed all the weird stuff! You took after him! He always was the smart one!"

"Oh, do you still use that name? It's so cute," Izumi smirked playfully over at his daughter who looked completely mortified now. He couldn't blame her for that. She clearly picked that name for herself to make herself sound cooler, and the adorableness or that fact must've been mortifying to her.

* * *

Rika felt her face flush with embarrassment. She didn't like her preferred name being called cute. And it didn't help that this happened in front of all these people. If it wasn't for the fact that they were talking about the fate of the world in their home, she would've stormed right out. She massaged her temple, "Can we go back to talking about the Digital World?"

Takato nodded, "Right, right. So, to catch you guys up on what we've been doing: we've been trying to stop as many of these digimon as we can. It hasn't been going too well because most of them would rather fight to the death. Even the stronger digimon. But we found out they're after The Catalyst, this energy source Guardians used to-"

"Guardians?" Davis repeated in confusion. Takato waved his hands as he spoke, "Sorry, Ancients. Guardians. Same thing, different names. My point is: it was sent here to hide it from something dangerous in their world. Only now they need it back, because they need it to fight whatever…is on the other side."

"You mean the Ancients?" Sora asked. Takato grew frustrated, "No, the sovereigns. The ones who sent them here. It's why all those strong digimon have started showing up! They want the catalyst back now. Which is why we're going to the Digital World. Because whatever has the Sovereigns scared should make us scared. And as long as the digimon are able to cross into this world, so can whatever terrifying beast is on the other end. Still with me? Any questions?"

After a beat, the mustachioed lawyer raised his hand, "Several: What does that have to do with our digimon disappearing? Is this related to Takeru? And why is that guy still here? Should we really be talking about this around him?"

Takato took one glance at Yamaki and shrugged, "Him? He's harmless. I think."

"Hey, I have a question: why are you all listening to him?" Yamaki asked, raising what Rika felt was the first valid question. Why were all these experienced adults listening to him? Yes, he was some important guy back in the Digital World but he seemed just as lost and confused as they were. But agreeing didn't mean she liked the guy. Everything about him made her uneasy. The adults looked between each other and one dressed like a cook explained, "When we were his age, he was the one who knew what was going on because-"

Yamaki interrupted, "I know all about your lives digidestined. I want to know why you're listening to a kid."

"Because if he's talking, it's usually a good idea to hear him out," Matt grunted, "Whether or not we want to."

Seeing Yamaki look confused as all hell was amusing to Rika in a way she couldn't express into words. Takato put a hand to his chin, "I'm not really sure what's going on right now. The important thing is we get to the Digital World and figure out from that side. I don't think the Devas are going to talk to us after last time."

"Devas? What happened last time?" her dad asked. There was a lot he had missed. And a lot more they needed to talk about. She had no intention of talking to her family about digimon before but now...there was much too talk about. Before Takato could explain, she started talking - telling them about everything that had happened up until that point of time. Included the Devas, the catalyst Calumon that could make digimon digivolve, and the number of them that had come through. She was annoyed by the fact that both of her parents and her grandmother were giving her unwanted looks of worry - she'd been doing fine before and would be doing fine long after. Her father frowned before managing a small smile, "It sounds like you guys have been busy...and a lot more effective than we've been right now."

Davis smiled approvingly, rubbing his chin, "They have their digimon partners and working digivices. It's no wonder they're able to do more than us. So when are we going to the Digital World?"

"Yeah, I'd like to see Palmon as soon as possible," her mom shrieked excitedly. Palmon...the plant digimon. The more Rika was able to think on it without getting a headache, the more concerned she became that her parents were the ditz and the geek from the digidestined books. Takato threw up his hands, "You aren't going anywhere. To be honest, I think it'd make more sense for just us with digimon to go. Our digimon can protect us. They can't protect a large group. Especially if it means we can't find your partners right away."

Whatever cool the rockstar Matt was trying to have vanished, "And why the hell not? They're not just our partners! They're our friends! If they're in danger, we're going to come to their rescue. And you better like hell believe that I'm not staying behind if my brother is in danger!"

"Matt," his wife took a hold of his hand, holding it in a comforting way. He cooled down enough for the doctor to suggest, "I hate to agree, but he's right. As much as I'd like to see Gomanon again, we'd only drag the others down. And while I'm not comfortable with leaving Takeru in danger, I feel like he's proven he can handle himself time and again."

"I'm not letting my daughter go to the Digital World alone!" her mom complained. Rika was surprised by that statement - mostly she just never expected her mother to care so deeply about anything besides fashion and modeling. The doctor pointed at her and wagged a finger, "Why not? We spent a couple of weeks trapped there, remember? We were barely any older than they are now. So what's so bad about them going alone?"

"She might die!" her mom freaked out. Then her dad took her mom's hand, squeezing it as he worriedly said, "Mimi...you're sounding like your father."

Horror. Rika never thought she'd see the day where her mom looked absolutely terrified. And it made her uncomfortable to see. Her mom shot death glares at Takato, "You're not dragging her off to get killed, you got that?"

Takato threw up his hands defensively, "I don't even know what's going on right now. How would I know if she's going to die? Between the headaches, it took me about a year to remember who I was and that was with people telling me my name was something else every hour of every day. I have no idea what's going to happen when we get there. But-"

"But what? What _but_ are you talking about?" her mom snapped at him again. It felt nice to watch her mom snap at Takato and even better that someone else was calling him out on the stupid things he says. She wasn't prepared for his response though, and she was sure her mom felt the same way, "I was going to say 'but that doesn't mean we should stand by and do nothing'. Because sitting here and catching every digimon that comes through isn't doing anything to solve the problem. I think it's actually making it worse. And Rika doesn't seem like the kind of person who'd listen if you told her not to do something anyway."

"And what's that supposed to mean goggle head?" Rika finally spoke, noting that he took a step back nervously, "Nothing bad. Just that you don't like to be told what you can and can't do. You do what you want when you want, how you want. I mean, you just swore in front of your mom."

Rika folded her arms, smiling at what she was sure his attempt at a complement. She'd let it pass for now. Kari sighed, "So then when are you going to the Digital World and how long are you going to stay there?"

Takato's mood turned, "I don't know. A couple of days, maybe weeks? With time convoluted the way it is, I don't know how long we'll be there. It could days there but seconds here."

* * *

Xiaochun sung to herself as she poured some more fake tea for herself and Calumon. In truth, since she couldn't have real tea, all she poured was soda from her play set. Calumon sat in his little pink dress drinking the soda. Then she cut out pieces of cake for herself and Calumon. The tea may be fake but the sweets were real. Once she sat to eat, she asked, "So Mrs. Prissy pants, how do you like your tea?"

"It's delicious!" Calumon said excitedly. She may have missed having Terriermon around but Calumon was a lot more fun to play with. She was about to help herself to some more cake until there was a tap on her window. There was a little black imp wearing a red scarf and gloves gesturing at her to open the window. She normally wasn't allowed anywhere near the window because their apartment was so high up but he must've been a friend of Calumon. Why else would he be here?

She went over and unlocked the window, barely having the second to open it before the little imp jumped in, "It's about time. Who are you?"

"I'm Xiaochun!" she introduced herself, "Who are you?"

The little digimon grunted, "Hmph. Name's Impmon. Imma call you Suzie cos' that name o' yours is too long to remember. You's Calumon, right?"

"That's right!" the little white digimon said excitedly, "Want some tea?"

He offered a cup for Impmon, who could only look at the little digimon like he had done something wrong. Impmon sighed, "Okay, what's the matta' with you? First o' all: that ain't tea! It's soda! Second! Why are you in a dress!? If you's as tough as everyone says you are, then get outta that! It's disrespectful!"

He ripped the dress straight off little Calumon. Xiaochun felt her heart sink at the sight of watching one of her favorite dresses get ripped apart. Calumon even got teary eyed, "Oh! I liked that dress! It made me feel pretty!"

"Forget about it!" Impmon grabbed a hold of the little digimon, "I gotta get you to the monkey!"

"Monkey? What monkey?" Calumon asked, struggling to break free of Impmon's grip. Impmon scoffed and continued on towards the window, "I dunno, I can't remember the name. Some monkey. Wants to talk to ya. Said to get ya from the humans. We're going to the park! Now!"

Realizing that Impmon was going to take Calumon away, she ran in front of them and threw out her hands, "No! Calumon has to stay here with me!"

"Don't care! Beat it!" Impmon kicked her in the shin so hard that she fell on her side. That hurt so bad! Why did Impmon have to be so mean? What did she ever do to him? She looked at him with teary eyes, watching Calumon scream in protest as Impmon leapt out the window, "SHADDAP! WE"RE GOIN'!"

He leapt out the window, taking Calumon with him. Xiaochun was angry, furious at Impmon for taking right out from under her nose but also at herself. Henry said to protect him. And he would be so mad when he found out what happened. Her mind raced through all the mean things he would say to her and what bad things might happen to Calumon. And that just made her sad. Before she knew it, tears were streaming down her ears and she was bawling.

That was when the door to her room opened and her dad came in, "Xiaochun! What's wrong!?"

She wailed, "WAAGGH! DADDY! CALUMON! SOME MEAN DIGIMON SHOWED UP AND TOOK HIM!"

"Took him?" her dad noticed the window was open and went to see for himself, "There's no one out here. Dammit. We better go find him. If he's as important as Henry says he is, there's no telling what kind of trouble he'll get into."

"DADDY!" she cried out, "PLEASE DON'T BE MAD! I'M SORRY I LOST HIM."

"I'm not mad honey," he assured her, hugging her and wiping away her tears with his sleeve, "Don't worry. Everything will be fine. I just have to go find him. Stay right here and I'll be right back."

He let her go and hurried out of the room. Xiaochun sniffled, certain of her mistake and scared that a scolding was going to follow sooner or later.

* * *

Henry wandered away from the rest of the group, sure that he wasn't needed for the next part of the conversation and went out into the garden. He was surprised to see Rika lived in such a fancy home and wondered what her parents did to afford this kind of life. Then again, one was a government agent and the other was as pretty as a model. They were probably loaded! Terriermon stuck his head out of the bag and asked, "Henry! Can we go back inside! I want me some of those brownies!"

"We can go back in once that government guy leaves. I don't want him to see you," Henry assured his partner. As he sat there, he heard the back door slide open and saw his sensei come out to join him with the doctor. He wasn't sure how he'd missed until now that his sensei was one of the digidestined. Then again, he also missed the fact that one of the teacher's at his school was part of the team.

His sensei greeted him first, "I hope you don't mind if we join you, Henry. It's a little crowded in there and it'd be nice to get some air and clear our heads."

"No problem, sensei," he bowed in greeting. His sensei lifted his head back up, "No, we're not at the dojo right now. Out here, we're just digidestined. Or…whatever. What is your team's name?"

"We don't really have one," Henry mulled it over, scratching his head, "But we have been called Tamer a lot by the digidestined. I think it's because the digimon didn't know who we were so they kept confusing us for Tamer or Takato or whatever."

"Now that would be something," his sensei laughed, "I don't think you've met properly, this is Joe. He's a doctor and the most reliable of us."

Joe shook his hand, "Nice to meet you Henry. So how does it feel, finding out all of this real?"

"It's all very surreal. It's hard to believe all of this is still actually happening," he frowned. Joe patted his shoulder, "Don't worry. We've had this problem before. But it looks like you made the choice you needed to, though."

"Yeah," Henry nodded, "But the more involved I get, the more my family gets involved too. First my sister, now my dad. If I didn't know any better, I'd say my whole family was going to become part of this."

His sensei and Joe swapped looks, "Déjà vu, right?"

"Indeed."

"What?" Henry raised an eyebrow. Both of them laughed for a moment, chuckles turning to bursting laughter before either of them calmed down. His sensei wiped a tear from his eye, "Sorry. It's just strange how familiar this all is. In fact, that's why Matt is so worked up over Takeru. And that's before we get into the time their mom got shot. If anything ever happened to your sister, I'm sure you'd be freaking out too."

"That's not the most flattering comparison," Henry looked back in to see Matt slamming his fist on a table angrily. Terriermon only laughed, "I think it fits. He's so uptight, kinda like you. You need to relax."

"Hey! I'm not hitting things!" Henry pointed out quickly.

"Moumantai," his partner and sensei said together. Henry blinked, unaware that he was going to hear things in stereo now. He looked over at his sensei who was bursting with laughter, "Another Terriermon says it! I never thought I'd see the day!"

Something about the laughter was a little contagious, and he chuckled nervously. Terriermon patted his back, "See what I mean? So uptight. You can't even laugh properly."

Henry's laughter turned into a silent pause and his sensei patted his head, "It's okay to be anxious. the danger you're in is very real. The fact that you're taking it seriously means you'll deal with it properly. The last thing you want is to make light of it. You may do something you'll regret."

That last part was particularly alarming. What did he mean by regret? What part of the story of the digidestined did he not know. More importantly, it reminded him that his family was indeed at risk with everything going on, "What do you mean?"

"If we've learned anything over the years, it's that sometimes you do the wrong thing when you think you're in the right," the doctor explained, gesturing back into the house, "If you ever read any of Takeru's novels or seen the show, you know what I mean. Ken was the Emperor, SkullGreymon, he changed Oikawa's story but he hit the key points, and more. By being light, I didn't mean you were being light hearted about it. I meant you were contemplating things and thinking. And every group needs that voice of reason. Especially when Tamer starts getting weird."

Henry looked back inside to see Takato talking animatedly. Maybe there was a point to being the voice of reason in all of this. Then again, Rika was doing that job just fine. Still, it was nice to know that he wasn't along in being hesitant to get involved.

* * *

Juri listened to Takato ramble on, "As for when, that all depends on how long it takes to get the digivices to start opening gates again. Could be a few days, maybe even a week! Thankfully, we have a solution to that problem and the solution is-"

She tuned out the moment she noticed Miss Kamiya staring at him with the most curious expression. It was like she was trying to study him. She glanced back over to Takato still babbling whatever he was going on about and quietly moved her way over to their teacher, whispering to get her attention, "Miss Kamiya?"

"Hm? What is it, Juri?" she asked. Juri nodded her head at the boy, trying not to draw anyone's attention, "Are you okay, Miss Kamiya? You've been staring at Takato like you're going to punish him."

"I just might, honestly," she answered calmly, looking back over at him, "It's a very long story and I'm sure you don't want to hear about it."

Juri didn't like the sound of that and asked, "What exactly happened? You knew him a long time ago, right? Did he do something?"

She shot her a surprised look, "I thought all you kids were into digimon."

Juri felt awkward about that, "Not me. I mean, not really. I just kinda ended up a part of whatever this is. I don't know much about the card game, or the show, or the books, or any of it."

Kari nodded understandingly, "I'll keep it short. A long time ago, my brother disappeared when I was maybe four years old. The next time I saw him: four years had passed, he had no idea who I was, kept calling himself The Digimon Tamer, and he was trying to save the world from being destroyed. Then he got stuck in the Digital World. Next time I saw him, he said he couldn't meet with us because he was on the run but that he trusted us to save the world. Then he died. Now he's back, with a whole new face and name, and the world's in trouble again."

Juri felt her head spin from the explanation, glancing back at Takato with genuine surprise. She knew he called himself The Digimon Tamer but she didn't know all that about him. Rika's words in the park echoed in her mind, reminding her that she wasn't supposed to trust him. And the more she learned, the more she realized she didn't know about him. It made her dread what other secrets he could be keeping. She felt a hand squeeze her shoulder gently, "Sorry, I didn't mean to put all that on you. Just forget about it. It's my problem."

Juri contemplated telling her about what Takato had said too - that he wasn't the real Takato. Before she could, Takato and Rika's digivices went off with a loud beeping noise. At the same time, the government guy with the shades stepped out of the room to answer a call on his cell phone. The guy dressed like a cook peered at their digivices excitedly, "Whoa, what's that? Ours never did that!"

Rika examined her digivice calmly while explaining, "They do this whenever a digimon is crossing over from the other side. That's weird though - it's not saying anything is coming through."

"Maybe it's broken? Like ours are?" Miss Kamiya lifted up her digivice, "It's why we can't get to the Digital World or-"

"No, this is different," Takato turned the digivice over in his hand, "What if...oh...oh, of course!"

"What is it?" Juri hadn't seen that look before but his excitement must've meant he'd realized something. He started pacing excitedly, "The only time we've seen our digivices go off is when digimon appear. But what if the reason they go off isn't because digimon are appearing, that was just a coincidence! What if the reason they go off is because a gate is opening from the Digital World to this one! It's why it wouldn't go off whenever that thing Izzy was making would turn on."

"So what does that mean?" Rika's mom asked seriously. At that moment, Henry came back in with the doctor and the lawyer. Takato pointed at him and asked, "Where's Calumon?"

"At home with my sister. Where else would he be?" Henry answered anxiously, "You guys got it too! What's going on?"

Takato turned to Rika's mom, "Do you have a phone we could borrow?"

"In the living room," she said matter of factly, gesturing off into the house. Juri turned her head, wondering just what exactly had happened between them that caused so much animosity. Takato turned back to Henry, "Call your sister quick."

A look came across Henry's face as if he realized something and he hurriedly followed Rika's mom into the kitchen to borrow their phone. Annoyed at being kept out of the loop, Rika demanded from Takato, "Why? Goggle head! What's going on? What's got you so freaked out?"

"We still have three Devas on the loose," Takato answered in a panic, "And a gate is opening between worlds. That means one of two things: either something really big is about to squeeze through once that gate is big enough, or something else is about to jump through from our side to the other one. Whichever it is, the gate is opening on the other side. Either way is bad news for us and we'd better make sure we have Calumon when either one happens."

"What makes you so sure?" Kazu asked skeptically, watching Takato continue to pace anxiously. It didn't help that he anxiously answered, "I'm not. I have a powerful headache from sensory overload, a ton of things are happening that don't make sense, and this digivice which makes no sense won't turn off which doesn't help either. I'm not sure, I'm just being cautious."

Henry raced back into the room, "Xiaochun says Impmon just took Calumon."

"Impmon? Who's Impmon?" Rika asked, "Wait, was he that guy who showed up and ran off?"

At this moment, Renamon appeared again just behind her, "Impmon? That little rookie took Calumon?"

"You know who that is?" Henry asked. Renamon nodded, "I ran into him a few times over the course of my time here in the Real World. He was always by himself and was constantly trying to convince me to abandon our partnership. He believed working with humans was beneath the skills of a digimon. I tended to ignore him most of the time. Why would he steal Calumon?"

"Maybe he was trying to do that thing you were talking about? Get Calumon away from Henry's sister," Kenta suggested, "What do you think Takato? Takato!?"

Takato was already at the front door getting his shoes back on, "Going to get Guilmon! I'll meet you guys where the gate is opening. Oh! Kazu, Juri! I'll need you guys to come with me!"

Juri and Kazu swapped confused glances, "What for?"

"Guilmon doesn't move well in the box, so three of us can clear a path for him as he moves!" Takato answered urgently, picking their shoes up of the floor and tossing it their way, "Now come on! We got a little digimon to save!"

"Well, we're coming too!" Rika's mom declared, picking up her things, "If digimon are involved, you better believe we-"

"Mom, no!" Rika interrupted her, "You guys don't even have digimon! Digidestined or not, all you guys would do is slow us down! Our partners can't fight whatever we're up against and protect you at the same time."

"She's right, y'know," the doctor said, adjusting his glasses and looking at her mom calmly, "As frustrating as it is to say, we're all but useless right now. It'd be better to leave this to them since they're the ones who're actually involved in it right now. Have faith in your daughter, Mimi. She's got that same attitude you did when you were her age."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rika and her mom scowled at the same time, making both of them pause at that statement. The doctor was the only one to laugh, "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Besides, you might want to spend more time with your husband and we have to deal with the other guy."

He gestured at the government agent who was still on his phone on the other side of the room. As much as she didn't like it, Rika's mom seemed to take the hint and nodded towards her daughter. She looked about ready to break down crying but didn't, instead saying, "Ruki, just promise me you'll come back alive, okay?"

"I will," she answered rather coldly. Then her dad spoke, "Ruki. When you get back, let's talk, okay?"

"R-right," she nodded, hurrying towards the door. As they made their way outside, Juri looked sideways at Rika and said, "I'm happy your family's back together."

"Whatever," she answered, making a point of looking directly away from her. Although she wasn't saying it, Juri guessed that she was a lot happier than she wanted to let on. As they headed out, Takato tossed Kenta his bag, "Here! Take the smoke bombs! You know what to do! Let's go!"

* * *

Yamaki made his way back inside in time to see all six kids hurrying back out. There was no doubt they were on their way to that Wild one bioemerging right now. It bothered him to think six kids had better control over a situation than an entire government organization dedicated to doing the same thing. Still, time was of the essence. He made his way back into the dining room and called out to Izumi, "We need to go. We have another wild one bioemerging."

"They're called digimon," he said flatly. Yamaki was glad he was wearing sunglasses. He didn't want to think about what Izumi's wife would do if she saw him rolling his eyes at her husband. He tried to make his way to Izumi's wheelchair but was blocked again by his wife, "You're not taking him anywhere. He's staying right here."

Yamaki paused, examining the woman carefully. She shouldn't have been as intimidating as she was but he stood firm, trying to calm himself before he said anything he shouldn't. Once he was calm, he took off his sunglasses, "Let me make this clear. You might have no compulsion with sending kids off into danger to get themselves killed. But I do. And I'll be damned if I stand by and let history repeat itself with those kids. I'm taking your husband and we're leaving. And if you want to stand by so that another massacre can happen, then you can do it from that side of the room. Get out of my way."

She stood exactly where she was, refusing to move. He didn't want it to come to this. He drew his gun and aimed it for her head. There were several gasps and the detective quickly drew his own. Still, his wife stood where she was, refusing to get out of harm's way despite the obvious danger she was in. She was courageous, he had to give her that. But he didn't need it right now. He needed to get Izumi back to headquarters.

"Mimi," Izumi began, wheeling his chair over to get her attention. He pulled her back behind his chair, "I'll go with you. We still need to help stop whatever is happening. But I'm only going to work on my terms. Not yours. Juggernaut...I'm not going to use it for your purposes any more."

Yamaki eyed everyone in the room carefully. He didn't want a massacre and all it would take was one misfire for all of this to go downhill. He lowered his gun and returned it to its holster, adding, "Nothing gets done without my approval. Understand, Izumi?"

"Izzy," his wife corrected. The biggest, most loving smile appeared on Izumi's face - the kind one could have only when they saw the person they loved the most, "Don't worry. I'm not going to disappear again. I'll email you guys the address."

"Izumi," Yamaki warned him. The last thing he wanted were all these people to suddenly show up in the Hypnos HQ. Izumi answered by raising his middle finger and continued talking to his wife, "And the clearance codes. Don't worry."

"IZUMI!" Yamaki said more loudly to get his attention. The man looked up with a mischievous smile, "I mean, you did want to recruit them, right? So what's the issue?"

"Recruit them. Not have them or you take over my operation," Yamaki explained bitterly, watching Izumi wheel his way to the front, "It's not like we can screw it over any worse than you guys have. If anything, we're the ones with the most experience when it comes to this kind of thing. So why shouldn't we run it?"

"Yeah, great job with that. The world got invaded twice under your watch," Yamaki remarked sarcastically, taking hold of Izumi's chair so he couldn't get away, "So nice try but no deal. Still there is an opportunity before us - you can come too if you want. Help out."

"Not interested," his wife replied. Yamaki clicked his tongue and continued pushing Izumi towards the door. As they passed the threshold, Izumi remarked, "Don't worry. You'll come around to our way of doing things soon enough."

Yamaki wouldn't count on it. When did his life start spiraling so far out of control?

* * *

Rika, Henry, and Kenta chased the gate, using Rika's digivice to lead the way. After they ran several blocks, Kenta asked, "How much further is it? You'd think people would be freaking out by now!"

Rika looked down at her digivice, watching the arrow move along the screen until it was pointing behind them. She stopped in her tracks and both boys crashed into her from behind. She pushed her self back up and spat out, "Watch it!"

"Why'd you stop Rika?" Henry asked, dusting himself off as he got up and helping Kenta off the ground. Rika looked back down at her digivice to make sure she wasn't seeing it wrong. The arrow continued to move, pointing the way they came from and then continued on. Her digivice had to be broken. She snapped her fingers, "Digivice."

"Uh, sure," Henry produced his digivice and showed it to her, "Why do you…oh."

"What is it?" Kenta asked, peering at the screen.

"The gate is moving," Rika announced, "It's back the way we came from now!"

* * *

As Takato, Juri, and Kazu ran past a crowd of people running away from the park. They must've looked insane to be running towards it. This wasn't right. They weren't running in the direction of the gate, so why were people running away from the park. They got their answer when they finally reached the park entrance, only to see Leomon and Andromon standing beside Guilmon facing off against the horse and the sheep Devas Pajiramon and Vajramon. Kazu shouted, "Oh great, they're back!"

"It's all right, Andromon and Leomon are on our side," Takato explained, running in to join his partner, "Guilmon! What's going on?"

The little dinosaur was too busy growling at the devas to answer him and Takato tried shaking his partner to get his attention, "Guilmon! Hey! It's me! What happened?"

"Targets ahead! Exposition: Devas attacked us. We are acting in self defense," Andromon answered mechanically, "Preparing defensive measures!"

Kazu cheered as an array of lasers, guns, and blades appeared out of Andromon's body, "Whoa! Dude! That is awesome! What is all that? Takato! Where did you find these guys?"

"Juri found them," Takato gestured her way, looking ahead at Pajiramon, "Why are you guys here? We're trying to help! So why did all those people run away screaming?"

"Help! Hah! Tell that to Vajramon," Indramon answered gutturally. Right away, Takato tried pleading, "We didn't want that to happen. If the Digital World is in danger like you said it is, then we need to work together! Let us help!"

"You've helped enough," Pajiramon spat back angrily. As she spoke, a mist began to appear behind them along with a blindingly bright light. Just the sight of it made the hair on the back of her neck stand on in terror and she closed her eyes to keep from being blinded. Through what little bit she could see with her eyes open just a crack, Juri asked, "What are they doing?"

Leomon roared, "They're trying to force open a portal to the Digital World. Something from the other side must be doing it."

"What? But the gate isn't opening here!" Takato shouted, trying to examine his digivice, "It's opening over at…it's moving?"

"Indeed it is!" announced a monkey wearing a fez. It held Calumon tucked carefully inside a cage which he jangled tauntingly, "Greetings! I am Makuramon. I do apologize for the interruption but opening gates between worlds is tricky business and, unfortunately, we're not specialized in that. Thank you for keeping the Catalyst safe for us, but we must take it back!"

"Guys! HELP! GUILMON! HELP ME!" Calumon screamed out, closing his eyes just as the symbol on his forehead began to glow again. Light erupted forth, streaming out towards Guilmon, "GUILMON! DIGIVOLVE TO! GROWLMON!"

Nobody knew the little guy had it in him to make someone digivolve on command like that but it did. For a brief moment, it seemed like they could win. A moment Makuramon dispelled when he cackled, "Oh my, that is a spot of bother. You humans spend way too much time something that was always ours, never yours."

"You have no idea how wrong you are," Takato pointed out. Makuramon wagged his finger, "Not to worry. I'll take the Catalyst back and we shan't worry about this again. Toodaloo, little humans! Play nice with Pajiramon and Indramon!"

"But I'm not human," Takato said too late as Makuramon leapt backwards into the mist and faded away, leaving only Calumon's echoing screams of horror. Takato shouted and charged after them with Growlmon only to find Pajiramon in front of it, "You will not be pursuing them."

Frustrated that he was being ignored, Takato shouted, "Don't you guys get it!? We can help you!"

"We don't need your help!" Indramon roared, bringing his giant hoof crashing down on top of him. Takato stood in place - either frozen in fear or out of sheer bravery. But some would call it stupidity. Juri gasped averting her eyes to avoid seeing Takato get killed. But the sickening crunch she expected was replaced by a loud clang. When she looked again, she saw Growlmon had pushed him out of the way and was standing between him and Indramon. Leomon and Andromon finally joined into the fray, the lion charging in first, "You will not harm him!"

"Executing defense protocols. Priority One: Defend The Digimon Tamer!" Andromon added, a sword appearing where his hand was. The two large digimon paired off against either Pajiramon or Indramon, crossing blades and taking shots at each other in a frenzy of violence. It was like watching history repeat itself as the four battled each other. Only now, they were battle hardened digimon - not some kids who were in over their heads. This didn't stop Kazu from cheering excitedly, "YEAH! KICK HIS BUTT LEOMON! ANDROMON! SHOW 'EM HOW IT'S DONE!"

With each blow, the digimon would knock each other back. And on one of the bouts, Andromon struck Pajiramon so hard that she was thrown flying right their way. Juri and Kazu both froze, unable to move as Pajiramon caught herself before crashing into them. As soon as she corrected herself, she turned to face them, "Humans shouldn't get involved in this. Get out of our way!"

She raised her blade to attack, swinging it down as hard but was stopped by Leomon's blade, "They're just children! Get a hold of yourself! You're a Deva! A protector!"

"A protector of the Digital World!" Pajiramon pointed out, giving one good push to knock Leomon back. Still the lion stood his ground, refusing to give way for Pajiramon. He looked over his shoulder, at Kazu and herself. He must've noticed she was afraid because he smiled at her, "Don't worry. I won't let any harm come to you!"

He turned back towards Pajiramon, letting out a mighty roar and summoning the strength to push the Deva's blade back and giving himself the opening he needed to properly kick the Deva in the teeth, "You will not harm the digidestined. You may be a protector of the Digital World, but I am a protector to all. And I will not let you choose who lives and who dies."

"Then you'll die yourself," Pajiramon charged in again, crossing blade with Leomon. As the fight continued, Juri noticed Takato and Growlmon were finally back in the fight. Growlmon spun around and used his tail to whip Indramon before he could get close, then leapt on him in a frenzy. But being at this close range just gave Indramon an unexpected advantage, "HORN OF DESOLATION!"

The horn on the horse's back rang out, making Juri's ears ring in protest. She covered her ears to drown out the noise, as did Leomon, Kazu, Takato, and Growlmon. It took them off guard just long enough for Pajiramon to get in a lucky strike, kicking Leomon to the ground and trampling over him. She gasped again in terror, watching helplessly as the sheep ground the lion with her hooves before galloping off to join Indramon.

Leomon was going to die here for protecting them. For protecting her. Maybe she should've stayed home. Maybe she shouldn't have been here. She wanted to help. But what was she supposed to do? She wasn't like Takato, or Rika, or Henry. She was powerless to do anything. If only...

If only she could be useful. Leomon must've sensed her uncertainty because he looked at her with a wide eyed smile, "Don't worry, everything will be fine."

Something heavy hit her pocket. Something warm. It calmed her down. At first, she thought she imagined it. Then she reached inside and found a digivice. Just like the one Takato had but with a yellow trim, "What?"

"Whoa! WHAT!? HOW COME YOU GET ONE!?" Kazu protested when he saw it. But she didn't pay any attention. She had a digivice. Was she meant to help? Was...Leomon supposed to be her partner? No. This was a mistake. It had to be. She didn't know anything about digimon. But this wasn't the time to freeze up and panic. This wasn't the time for self-doubt She reached into her pocket and produced the booster pack of cards she'd bought, ripping them open and looking for one that looked useful. But the cards were all gibberish to her and she had no idea what any of them did. Until she found one she'd seen them use before. If it worked for them, why wouldn't it work her? She readied the card and swiped it through the device, "Digimodify! Strength Boost Activate!"

Leomon leapt up back to his feet, raising his sword with a mighty roar, "YES! THIS ENERGY! I CAN FEEL IT! THANK YOU, JURI!"

Juri felt a small smile appear on her face, unable to deny the overwhelming joy she was feeling from helping Leomon out. She looked just ahead to see Andromon and Growlmon squaring off around Indramon and Pajiramon. It seemed that they were too evenly matched as it were. But now the cavalry was here. First, Pajiramon. The sheep Deva grunted when she noticed Leomon, "To think the great that you would throw your lot in with these disgusting humans. Where's your pride as a warrior?"

"A true warrior doesn't let pride interfere with his common sense," Leomon roared back, "My protection doesn't stop at the Digital World. I protect all life: weak and strong."

Pajiramon appeared unfazed and shook her head in disappointment, "They've killed our kind time and again, Leomon. Let's see your common sense rationalize that. Rargh!"

She charged forward again and the two of them clashed one more time. Realizing that his added strength wasn't enough, Juri began flipping through her cards again. It just didn't make any sense. Half of these cards had a bunch of rules and stats on them that she didn't understand. But her answer was right next o her, "Kazu! What do these cards do?"

"Huh?"

"Cards! I need one to help Leomon!"

She pushed some of the cards into his hand and watched him go through it. After a minute, he pulled one out, "Use this! It's training gears. If strengthens any digimon who uses them over time, but it restricts them at first."

"What?" Juri flat out said, unable to understand a word he'd just said. He groaned, "Just use it!"

She nodded, swiping the card, "Digimodify! Training Gear Activate!"

A set of elastic bands appeared on Leomon's arms which he promptly threw at Pajiramon, wrapping them around her legs and imprisoning her. Leomon cheered, "Well done Juri! Now let's finish this!"

He charged forward one more time, leaping into the air with his sword raised above his head and brought it crashing down on top of Pajiramon's skull. The sickening crunch made Juri's stomach turn and she looked away as Leomon ended it, "Fist of the Beast King!"

She really hoped Takato didn't see that. Especially not the part where the data of the defeated digimon began to coalesce around Leomon until he absorbed it. But now things were going their way. It was three on one now. They could do this! Then it was on to save Calumon! She pointed at Indramon, "Help Growlmon!"

Leomon leapt into the air with his sword above his head, and was knocked aside by Indramon's massive hoof, "Pitiful."

Andromon armed his canon and fired at Growlmon, "Gatling Attack!"

The bullets peppered Indramon who raised up his other hoof to defend himself. Growlmon so his opening and charged in also, tackling the massive horse from the side. Indramon just laughed, "Pitiful!"

Andromon primed the canon on his arm and took aim, "Gatling Attack!"

The bullets peppered Indramon, who raised another hoof to defend himself. Growlmon was his opening and tackled him from the side and the two grappled with each other until Indramon managed to turn Growlmon so that he'd take the brunt of the attack! Takato helped out in a panic, "Growlmon! No!"

Leomon got back up on his feet and leapt back at the digimon. Indramon answered by swinging his massive hoof so that he struck the lion in the side, "Do you think that would work? Now! Horn of Desolation!"

He retrieved the horn on his back and blew into it, unleashing a great noise that shook the world and made the pavement crack. Growlmon, Leomon, and Andromon were thrown around the park. Before the blast could get her, Takato dashed to Juri's side and pushed her to the ground, "Watch out!"

They landed on the grass and away from the shockwave, which continued on and overturned a car. Juri gasped, "Nothing we do can touch it!"

"Juri, your cards!" Takato pointed at the ground beside her. Her cards had fallen out of her hand and scattered along the ground. It was then that she noticed he was on top of her, and she felt her face flush in embarrassment. Takato scrambled to his feet and helped her up, gathering the cards together and holding one up to her - a strange blue card with a pixelated dinosaur, "Where'd you get this?"

"It was probably in the booster pack I had," she answered quietly, trying not to think about what just happened. Takato nodded and proceeded to take the card, "I hope you don't mind if I use this. And I really hope it works. DigiModify! Activate!"

He swiped the card through his deck and a beam of light jumped from his digivice to Growlmon. The digimon let out a roar and transformed before their eyes - skin ripping off violently and reappearing elsewhere, "Growlmon! Digivolve to! WarGrowlmon!"

The digimon grew in size and now had a set of mechanical parts on his body - bladed arms, rocket launchers on his torso, a metal jaw and a long metal cord extending from his back. Indramon scoffed, "Digivolve all you want. It won't help you! Horn of Desola-"

"Rargh!" WarGrowlmon flew in, the rockets on his back coming to life and propelling him forward into the horse. He dug both of his metal claws into the digimon's chest and raised over his head, "You won't hurt them again! Atomic Blaster!"

Two compartments on his chest armor opened up and fired an attack straight into the horse's gut before he could respond. The attack hit its mark and the digimon let out a great roar before disappearing. As with Leomon, the data coalesced around WarGrowlmon until he absorbed it into his body. It was over. Now they just had to go after Calumon. Before any of them could take a step forward, a small ball of fire hit the ground in front of WarGrowlmon, "Badaboom!"

WarGrowlmon stopped in his tracks, as a familiar imp leapt in between them and the gate. Juri blurted out, "Impmon!?"

"Sup losers?" Impmon greeted.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Juri and Leomon are partners! Can they stop Indramon before he closes the gate? Will they rescue Calumon? Can Yamaki regain control of his life as it spirals out of control? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out in two weeks on August 2 at 5 PM CDT! If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section! Don't forget to follow to keep up to date with the latest updates and favorite the story to show support! That's all I have for now! Let's move on to previews for the next chapter:

" _HENRY'S DOLL TALKED!" she screamed, moving Xiaochun behind her. His older brother looked from her to Terriermon and concluded, "It was probably a pull string."_

" _I don't have any pull strings. I'm completely real," Terriermon announced as he leapt out of his arms and onto the floor. Now it was his brother's turn to scream, "It moves! It's alive!"_

" _Well duh," Terriermon shrugged, "Moumantai!"_

" _Stop making it worse. You're freaking them out," Henry said to the little digimon who was now casually strolling up to them, "If they think I'm scary, then I think you might be the bravest in the bunch. You froze up against all those bigger digimon, but you never started freaking out like they did just because of me."_


	22. Off To The Digital World

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 22: Off To The Digital World**

Takato stared down at the little imp, trying to puzzle out why he was here, "What are you doing? Are you helping them?"

The imp folded his arms, leering so hard at Takato that he could drill holes, "Don't be stupid. You kids think yo' so tough walkin' around with them digimon like pets, actin' like you own the world. Well forget that! I got made an offer and I took it. I'm just lookin' to see if any of you's guys want to take the offer too while ya' can. Any of ya interested?"

Leomon kept his hand on his sword, "And what is this offer?"

Impmon thumbed at the shrinking fog behind him, "Work for thos' guys and get as strong as ya want! All ya gotta do is do 'em a favor every now and again."

"Observation: It sounds like you want us to trade human partners for digimon partners," Andromon pointed out, making the imp's face shrink in embarrassment. He quickly stammered out, "No, it's different!"

"I don't think it is," Leomon added, looking back at Juri with a smile, "Besides, I like Juri as my partner. She's very brave."

That infuriated Impmon, "You really wanna be bossed around by a stinkin' human? What's the matta with you?"

Kazu pointed at himself, "Nobody listens to me, so I don't know what you're talking about. Takato can barely keep Guilmon from wandering off-"

"HEY!" Takato spat out.

"-and Leomon doesn't really need Juri to tell him what to do in a fight. He can manage himself," Kazu answered expertly, uncharacteristically demonstrating a level of knowledge he hadn't shown before. Then he pointed at Impmon, "If anyone here is getting bossed around, it sounds like it's you Impmon."

Impmon's mouth was practically on the floor with amazement at how quickly he was torn down. After a moment's silence, he extended his middle most finger at all of them and snapped, "Y'know what, forget all of you! This is what I get for tryin' ta help you out! You all can suck it! You losas can hang out in the human world if you want. I'm goin back ta the Digital World to get me some rewards. Laters!"

He stuck his tongue out at them and leapt backwards into the fog, disappearing with it. There was a moment of stunned silence before any of them realized what happened. Then Takato sank to his knees and punched the ground, "DAMMIT!"

"Dude!"

"Tamer?"

"Are you alright?" Juri turned to him. His knuckles were bloody from hitting the ground so hard. She took a step forward to try and calm him down but he looked up at her when she was just an inch away. There was a cold anger there she hadn't seen before. It only lasted a moment before it was replaced by a determined look ahead, "This just got more complicated. We need to get Calumon back."

* * *

Rika, Kenta, and Henry arrived in time to see Takato punching the ground in anger, while Leomon and Andromon tried to calm him down. Juri and Kazu looked on anxiously. Both tamers looked at each other anxiously, unsure of what exactly they'd missed. Rika's shoulders slumped as she realized, "We're too late."

Henry tapped Kazu's shoulder, "What did we miss?"

"Some monkey digimon showed up and took Calumon!" Kazu explained, sounding like he was just as lost as they were, "Juri and Leomon beat Pajiramon, then Growlmon digivolved to WarGrowlmon and they beat Indramon! We tried to go through the gate but then Impmon showed up and...well..."

"Juri and Leomon beat Pajiramon?" Rika looked from the girl with the sock puppet to the tall lion warrior. She wanted to be surprised, but nothing surprised her anymore when it came to Juri. Especially since she had figured out what was wrong before she had. Without realizing it, she was smiling from ear to ear, "Good job Juri."

"Oh, thanks," the girl's face turned a bright shade of red and she looked away. Terriermon's ears sprang up, "It looks like we've got a new human-digimon team, huh? Welcome to the club. We've already got the mean one, the annoying one, and the cautious one. You can be the nice one."

"Okay, I get Rika's the mean one. Who's annoying and who's cautious?" Henry asked. Rika scoffed and stamped on his foot in response. She turned her attention back towards Takato straightening himself out. He seemed to be shaking, but that didn't stop him from opening Andromon's arm, "We need to get that gate open as soon as possible. It's our only chance of getting to the Digital World and saving Calumon."

"Dude, alright! We're going to the Digital World!" Kazu called out excitedly. Juri was less ecstatic, "Is that a good idea? We barely beat Pajiramon and Indramon. You want to go where there's more of them?"

Takato was too busy fiddling around inside Andromon's arm to listen. His arms went so far in that it looked like he was armless past the shoulder. While he tinkered, he explained, "Those guys we had a hard time beating just got their hands on a power source that can digivolve them all the way to the next level! If we don't go after them now, they'll be unstoppable when they come back."

"Don't you mean if?" Renamon asked seriously. Takato shook his head, "No. _When_. If whatever they're up against now is so strong they needed Calumon, then there's a chance - however small - that it won't be enough. And they'll come back to run away from it. And whatever they're fighting will be right after them."

Kazu groaned, "Geez, always gotta be so dramatic. So when are we going?"

"If I work all night? Maybe tomorrow at the earliest. Couple of days at the least," Takato answered quickly, closing the panel once he was done, "I'll need to get home and borrow some tools from dad. Oh! And you'd better tell your parents if you plan on coming."

"What? Again? I'm not telling my parents," Kazu protested. Rika rolled her eyes and slapped the back of his head, "Weren't you paying attention back at my house? We don't know how long we'll be there! If we're going, we're telling our parents all about it."

Takato added quickly, "I'll let Kari know tomorrow. We should get our homework before go too. If you guys don't want to fall behind on school work, we'd better bring some with us. That goes for you too: Rika, Henry."

"We're about to go on a rescue mission to another world to save Calumon, and all you can think about is our homework," Henry pointed out. Rika blinked and pointed at Henry, "Didn't think you were the type to not like homework, mister was-too-scared-to-fight-digimon."

"Education's important. Not that you should listen to me. I wasn't very good at school. I'm still not. I just don't like having to sit there for so long and pay attention," Takato explained to them, managing to kill his own point int he process.

"Ain't that the truth," Kazu grumbled. Then Kenta reminded them, "I don't want to kill the mood, but shouldn't we scatter before those crazy guys with the guns show up? I mean, do we want to be shot at?"

"Yeah, you're right," Juri nodded in agreement, stopping only when she realized she had a new problem, "But um...where do I keep Leomon?"

"Maintenance tunnel with WarGrowlmon and Andromon," Takato answered, "This way guys! And don't forget to tell your families!"

Leomon crossed his arms, "No. Juri's my partner now. Wherever she goes, I go."

Takato patted the massive lion, "No offense Leomon, but you stick out like a sore thumb. How do you plan on going home with her?"

"If Juri doesn't mind, then under cover of darkness," Leomon pointed up towards the darkening sky and the setting sun. All eyes were on Juri now, sweating nervously and shaking anxiously. Takato stated, "It's your call Juri."

After a long silence, she nodded in agreement. Kazu groaned, "Man, I still can't believe she got a partner and I didn't."

* * *

Rika returned home to find some of her mom's friends were still there. Her doctor friend greeted with that same calm smile he'd shown her before, "So, how'd it go? Save the world for another day?"

"Something like that," she sat herself down at the table and took another bite of the cookies. Her mom sat across from her quietly. She hadn't seen her mother so sullen in a while. Not since...then it clicked, and a panicked exasperation had her looking around the room nervously, "Where's dad?"

"He left with that Yamaki guy. But we'll see him again. He promised," she replied sheepishly.

A long paused followed after that, both mother and daughter unsure of what to say to each other now. She was sure the doctor was planning on giving some advice that neither wanted until he stood up, "I'd better get going. I have a lot of work tomorrow and you two have a lot to discuss. Mimi, it was good to see you again. Ruki, it was a pleasure to meet you."

As soon as he left, the rest of her mom's friends started making their excuses to leave too. Her mom wasn't as warm or friendly in her goodbyes as she usually was - and her friends noticed. They were probably all thinking the same thing. She and her mom had a lot to talk about now. And that made her anxious since she didn't usually talk to her mom anyway.

The long pause continued after all her friends were gone. Then her mom started giggling to herself. Rika looked around the room, trying to see what had made her mother laugh but just saw the empty dining room. Maybe her mom had finally snapped? When her mom finally calmed down enough to look up at her, she choked out an apology, "Sorry, it's just...I was starting to worry that you and I would never have anything in common besides being girls."

She shouldn't have been surprised to hear that. Her mom had been trying for years to get closer to them despite the fact that she didn't think they had anything in common. More to the point, for someone who had been a former digidestined, it didn't make sense why she never once mentioned that she'd had a digimon partner before. Her mom finally calmed down from laughing, "I'm really happy for you and your partner. And she's beautiful too, just like you."

"Why did you never tell me? You know I like digimon," Rika drummed her fingers on the table - mostly because she wasn't sure how to respond to that kind of praise from her mother. Her mom looked at her, "I didn't think you'd believe me, Ruki...I mean Rika. Digimon as you know it has only ever been a game. Most people think that, despite everything that happened."

Her ears perked up at the sound of that nickname. Her mom hated that nickname. But she was using it now. Her mom added, "But the truth is, I didn't want our relationship to turn out like it did with my dad. After what happened to my mom, he became...overprotective of me. And it ended up pushing me away from him."

"I know. I found the original book. And read it," she replied matter of factly, now warming up to the idea that her mom was Mimi. More awesome, her mom had personally dealt the killing blow to one of the toughest bad guys out there. And that...was actually kinda cool now that she thought about it. Then she remembered all the time in the book when she'd lashed out at the goggle head. The same goggle head who was making her life miserable now, "So was the goggle head always that stupid or-"

Her mom began massaging her temple as she began, "Worse. The truth was he was always several steps ahead of everyone else. He would just never admit it. It was annoying. Although, after what's been happening, I think I prefer it when he knows what's going on. Even if he is a smug jerk about all of it. I've never admitted this but...I was happy to learn he was going to die. But when it finally happened, all I felt was sorry for Kari because she had to lose her brother three times."

She paused, "Sorry, we shouldn't be talking about this - it's too depressing. And just talking about that him annoys me.

"Believe me, mom. That goggle head annoys me too," Rika admitted. Both had a laugh at that. Aside from digimon, it seemed they both had another thing in common. A genuine dislike for that goggle wearing moron. She went on to add, "I mean, who wears goggles? It's like he's some dumb kid playing at being a pilot. Some days, I expect him to just run around with his arm out like a plane going whoosh."

Her mom started laughing, "You don't even know the half of it. You should've seen him when I was your age! He got hit by a bus, got up and ran away like it was nothing. Then he walked into Sora's apartment, you remember my designer friend, and then he jumped through her sliding door and off her balcony."

Rika couldn't help but burst out laughing as that mental image came into her mind. Some days she wished the goggle head would get hit by a bus. Then again, with his uncanny luck, he'd probably shake it off like it was nothing. Especially since the only thing that actually seemed to hurt him was that government thing that hurt digimon. She opened her eyes through the laughter and noticed her mom was laughing too. This was a familiar feeling - one she hadn't felt in a while. A shared joy of laughing gleefully with her mother. She didn't hate it either. She actually kinda liked it and wanted to laugh with her more often.

After the laughter died down, Rika looked at her mom with the smallest semblance of a smile on her face, "But for all the stuff in the books, there's a lot of stuff that wasn't in them. Or on the show. There's a lot of stuff I don't get. Like you were the girly girl and dad was the nerd. How did you two get together?"

Her mom's face lit up excitedly, "It all started when he accidentally called me the cute once. I'm sure he was thinking it but he'd never worked up the courage to say it. Until one day, a couple of digimon showed up demanding a kiss from the cute one. Izzy pointed out they probably meant me. That was when I first noticed him. But he didn't really stop being shy until high school. But that's a different story and you're too young for it. Plus he has this really cute look on his face when he gets really invested in something."

Rika turned away, sensing this conversation was about to turn mushy. Thankfully her mom stopped there, "I know it'll be dangerous for you, because I was in your shoes once. But promise me you won't do anything to get yourself in danger. And you and Renamon take care of each other, because it'll always be life and death."

Then her mom hugged her. Her gut instinct was to push away in her protest but she chose not to. She didn't hate the hug; it was more that she knew it would make her mom feel better to hold her just a little while longer. That is, until the hug started lasting a little too long and Rika began to feel like she was suffocating. That was when she pushed away, "Okay, okay. I'm fine mom. Geez."

"I just wanted to hug my little girl again, that's all. I didn't think I'd get to again since you started distancing yourself away from everyone," her mother stated cheerfully, trying to pull her back into the hug. This time, she resisted only because she didn't like how long the hugs were lasting and she was getting uncomfortable just thinking about it. It was only then that Rika added, "The digimon we fought got Calumon - The one they were after. Goggle head is fixing everything up so that we can go to the Digital World and get him back. He also thinks we'll figure what's going on along the way. The plan is to leave as soon as he has it fixed up. Which could be as early as tomorrow."

"Well, I guess I should get some food ready for you guys just in case," her mom said cheerily. Rika wondered just how much more cooking her mom had in her as she made her way into the kitchen to prepare some more food.

* * *

Henry walked into his apartment with Terriermon in his arms, and was met by a wailing Xiaochun screaming about how he was going to be mad at her. Their mom was trying to calm her down with no luck and she shot Henry a confused look, "What is your baby sister crying about?"

He racked his brain to think of answer quickly. He'd told dad everything about the digimon but not his mom. Where would he even start with this story? Judging by his mom's confusion, that meant Xiaochun had kept her promise to keep as much of this secret as possible. If anything, it was a rarity for him since he expected her to spill the moment things went south. But she hadn't. Which was a real credit to her. But now it was on him to explain. Before he could, though, his mom pointed at Terriermon and asked, "What is that doing back here? I thought we told you to give that doll back to whoever you stole it from."

"I'm not stolen from anything. Henry, maybe we should tell your mom since your dad already knows anyway?" Terriermon finally spoke up, opening his mouth at the worst possible time. The look on his mom's face would be priceless if it wasn't so scared. And it especially didn't help when she shrieked in a panic, making Xiaochun wail louder. Things only got worse now that his older brother dashed into the hallway, "What's wrong!?"

"HENRY'S DOLL TALKED!" she screamed, moving Xiaochun behind her. His older brother looked from her to Terriermon and concluded, "It was probably a pull string."

"I don't have any pull strings. I'm completely real," Terriermon announced as he leapt out of his arms and onto the floor. Now it was his brother's turn to scream, "It moves! It's alive!"

"Duh," Terriermon shrugged.

"Stop making it worse. You're freaking them out," Henry said to the little digimon who was now casually strolling up to them, "If they think I'm scary, then I think you might be the bravest in your whole family. You froze up against all those bigger digimon, but you never started freaking out like they did."

"It...talks...and walks...and it's alive," his brother stammered out words between gasps of panicked breath. Terriermon patted the boy's leg, "Good! We've got you stringing together phrases! Now let's get you saying complete sentences!"

"Be nice," Henry said to his partner more sternly, scooping him up before either his brother or mom hit him in a panic. Xiaochun finally calmed down from her crying enough to look at Terriermon and say, "Terriermon. You're not mad are you? I'm sorry I lost Calumon! I didn't mean to."

Terriermon patted the little girl's head, "Hey, it wasn't your fault. You didn't know what was going to happen. If anyone's angry, it's gotta be Henry since he's the stick in the mud."

"I'm not a stick in the mud," he snapped quickly, prompting Terriermon to laugh, "Thanks for proving my point! It's good to know that I can at least count on you for something."

"Henry, what is going on?" her mom finally managed to ask, pointing a finger at Terriermon accusingly while listing every question that must've come to mind, "How long has he been able to talk? What is it exactly? Why does it know your name? Why does Xiaochun know what it is? And how long has it been in our home? Did you let it in?"

Henry groaned, scratching his head and grumbling, "You really know how to make my life miserable, Terriermon. Mom, Rinchei, Jaarin. This is Terriermon. He's a digimon, and we're partners. Sort of like that game I always play but...real. We've been fighting those digimon attacks that've been happening on the news. All the stuff they keep saying are freak accidents or explosions. Well, that's been us."

"Henry, it's dangerous!" his mom said worriedly, standing up and pulling her slipper off her foot to use as a weapon, "You need to get rid of that thing now before it hurts someone."

"He's not dangerous mom," he stated matter-of-factly, "If he were any kind of trouble, he would've been one by now. Well, more serious than anything he is now."

"Hey!" Terriermon began to protest, but Henry was quick to shut that down, "We're in a mess right now because you couldn't keep your mouth shut. You don't get to complain."

"Well, I wouldn't have had to if you'd just tell them that I'm real and that we're going to the Digital World already. And that's taking forever too!"

"I was about to when you opened up your mouth," Henry countered quickly, looking apologetically at his mom and siblings, "Anyway, I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys sooner. It was kind of hard to have to explain."

"That's an understatement," Rinchei sighed, finally working up the courage to approach Terriermon. He stretched out his hand to pet the little guy on the head and added, "I mean...once you get past the fact that he's a walking, talking, creature with enough power to level our home, he's actually kinda cute."

"I'm adorable," Terriermon said proudly. Xiaochun happily added, "Isn't he? That's why I put him in the pretty dress. So that he can be one hundred percent cuter!"

"Please don't do that anymore," Terriermon added quickly, turning his head to Henry as if he were trying to plead for help. At that exact moment, his dad came back home, "I couldn't find him Xiaochun but...oh, Henry."

"We know all about it dad. We, um...have a lot to talk about," Henry said. Now it was his dad's turn to get in trouble, because his mom gasped out, "You know about all this, Zhenyu?"

"Don't tell me you told them?" his dad looked at him for some kind of out, only to have Terriermon answer, "I did. You guys were taking a long time to get all this out in the open. He probably would've waited to tell you guys until we were in the Digital World."

"Go where!?" his dad blurted out. His mom was on his dad before he could be pressed further, "Don't change the subject, Zhenyu! Did you know?"

"I might have," his dad admittedly sheepishly, and promptly had his ear pulled by his mom, "How dare you keep this a secret? What would you have done if anything happened to them?"

"Are we not going to talk about Jenrya going to another world?" his sister Jaarin asked quietly from behind the couch. This was going to be a very long night and Henry would have a lot to explain, "Look, there's a lot to talk about. Can we talk about it after we're done with dinner?"

"Finally, someone said it," Terriermon groaned out, "I'm hungry."

* * *

It was late when Takato finally returned home through front of the bakery, "I'm home!"

Yoshie Matsuda looked up from the dough she was busy preparing for the next day and called out, "Welcome back. It's late. Where were you, Takato?"

"Oh, y'know. Out," he answered quietly. She eyed him suspiciously, knowing he'd developed a penchant for making trouble ever since he'd run off a year ago. He worried them sick, especially when he turned up in raggedy clothes in the back of the concert. She wiped her hands on her apron and went to give him a hug, "Well, wash up and go eat dinner. We can talk later."

"Actually, can we talk now?" he asked innocently. It was odd for him to ask permission for anything. Usually, he'd just run off and do whatever. Probably with Juri. She noted that the two of them seemed to be spending a lot of time together. Maybe he was finally starting to notice girls. The thought of that made her feel old, but she also felt a little excited about the prospect of Takato wanting advice on how to talk to girls, "Sure, what is it?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, "Where's…dad?"

"Upstairs washing dishes," she answered, "What is it, sweetie?"

"Nothing…just thought I should talk to both of you," he answered glumly. Anxious to start giving out dating advice, she ushered Takato upstairs to the kitchen above the bakery, "Honey! Takato wants to talk to us."

"Is it about Juri? Need advice from the old man, huh?" he perked up excitedly, head poking out of the kitchen with the biggest smile. Takato immediately jumped in surprise, "What? No! Why would you…it's not about Juri. Why would I even…wait, did you guys think that we're…no, wait. Sorry, getting off topic. That's not it. It's something else."

Now Yoshie was confused and looked at her husband Takehiro for some kind of clue. Without another word, he guided them over to the kitchen table and sat them down. He assumed a seat on the other side of the table and stared at his hands quietly for a second. The longer he was quiet, the more worried she became, "What is it, Takato?"

"I'm just…trying to figure out how to explain this," he began, and her mind assumed the worst. Trouble at school? Trouble with the police? Bullies? What was it? After a moment, he finally began, "I wanted to thank you guys for everything. Literally. This…has been one of the nicest times in my life and I don't think I've ever had something like that before. But I need to come clean about something."

Every bit of that sounded confusing to her, and she looked to her husband again. He looked back with an equally lost expression. After another pause marked by the ticking of the clock on the wall, Takato explained, "I'm not your son. I'm not Takato Matsuda. I probably look and sound like him. But I'm not him. It's just…a big mix up. And I'm sorry for not telling you sooner. But…after you guys helped me, I didn't have the heart to break the news to you."

Was this a joke? A sick, twisted mistake that she was playing on his parents? That was cruel, even by his usual standard of pranks. She was about to scold him when he snapped his fingers and a golden energy began to emanate from it. He explained, "The truth is I'm…not like you. I'm…well, digital. Like the monsters that have been popping up on the news."

Then he produced a device from his pocket and set it on the table. It was small, consisting of a broken screen, a few buttons, and was covered in a fine layer of dirt and scratches. He tapped it a few times, "Sorry, it's old and broken so it doesn't quite work properly but it…should…here."

A projection of a teenaged boy appeared above the device, spinning in place as he quietly stood there. He wore a dark sweater and pants under a long blue hooded coat marked by yellow stripes and goggles on his head. But the most remarkable feature was his fiery brown hair. Takato explained, "Before I looked like…this, I looked like him. That was me…about a year ago. Give or take."

There was a lot to take in. A lot of information to process. Yoshie began massaging her temples as she tried to make sense of this. If this was a prank, it was Takato's most complex one to date. Then he went on, "There's a lot to talk about so let me know if you need me to explain anything or make sense of something."

She looked at him quietly, trying to make sense of what she just saw. This was all too much. But there was no way he was making this up. It was too complex for a kid his age to pull off. He had to be telling the truth, "If you're not our son, then where is he?"

"I don't know."

The answer hit her like a truck. She sank into her chair and her husband put a hand on her shoulder to keep her calm, "Yoshie! Look, I don't know what your game here is Takato, but it's not funny."

"It's no game. I'm not Takato," he gestured at the spinning projection, "But I think I might know where your son is. And I'll need your help to find him."

She looked up at the news and asked, "Where is he?"

"In my world. The Digital World. But to go there, I need to fix this," he gestured at the device on the table. It sparked at that moment and the projection vanished. He groaned, "I hate when it does that."

She looked down the at the device on the table, then to Takehiro. He still didn't seem to believe this, but he looked at Takato, "What do you need?"

"Could I borrow your tool kit?"

* * *

Juri sat at the dinner table with the rest of her family, swirling her food around quietly with her fork while the rest of her family ate. Her father had finished eating and was now reading the paper while quietly drinking coffee, looking up briefly to look at her, "Eat your food, Juri. You're a growing girl."

"I'm...not very hungry," she replied quietly, taking a small bite but having the hardest time chewing or swallowing. She had to tell her family - tell them that she was going to the Digital World. But every time she tried to work up the courage, a voice in the back of her head would shout out to not bother. Why would they worry? It wasn't like she was close to her step-mom. And her dad wasn't the easiest person to get along with. Not to mention her half-brother was only three - she'd been friendly and playful with him but she wouldn't consider them close. In fact, he probably wouldn't even register if she was gone.

Her father set his paper down and looked at her, "What's on your mind, Juri?"

"Nothing," she replied quietly, trying to avoid eye contact with him. He'd always been intimidating to look out with that perpetual frown on his face not making it any easier to look at him. He sighed, "Juri, you've been acting odd lately. You spend all your time in your room when you're home, if you're not sneaking out. Not to mention you've been staying out late a lot lately. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, dad."

He returned to his paper, "Fine. Don't tell me. But you're not excused from the table until you put half that plate of food away."

She nodded, forcing herself to scarf down as much of the food as possible so that she could go up to her room. Besides, Leomon was probably hungry too. He'd been hiding out in the bushes behind their garden but climbed up onto the roof once it was dark enough. Once she'd finished enough of the plate to be dismissed, she took her untouched glass of orange juice and announced, "I'll be in my room."

Her father gave a disapproving nod and she hurried upstairs before her step mom could say anything. Once the door was locked behind her, she opened up her window and let in a blast of cool night air. Leomon appeared from the top of the window, peering down with a small smile on his face, "How did it go?"

"I couldn't tell them," she admitted to him. She had no idea why it was so much easier to admit things to him than it was to admit things to her own parents. The disapproving look he gave her reminded her too much of her father too, "Juri, you need to tell them before you go. They are your family after all."

Family. They were her family. But they didn't feel like family - more like people she had to share a living space with. He furrowed his brow and knew she was in for some kind of talk. Hoping to change the subject, she pushed the glass of orange juice his way and said, "I thought you might be thirsty so I brought this for you. I can get you some dinner later if you want. I just have to wait for my parents to go to sleep first."

"Thank you," he smiled, taking the glass and guzzling it down like he hadn't seen any before. He wiped his mouth with his arm and smiled at her, "I saw you didn't eat dinner yourself. Is something the matter? I'd say it must be nerves - even the greatest of warriors lose their steel. But it can't be that. From what the Tamer said, you've been doing this for a while. It must be something else. Is it to do with your family?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Juri replied sheepishly. Leomon handed the glass back to her, seemingly contemplative for a moment before finally replying, "Have you ever thought to help yourself?"

That question startled her, mostly because she had no idea what to make of it and looked up at him in confusion. He sighed and lowered himself further so that she could see him more clearly. It was still an odd sight to behold, watching him dangle by his arms from the roof. He went on, "I suppose not. You were just like the Digimon Tamer a long time ago."

"How was that?" she watched the lion's face curl in disappointment. His explanation didn't do anything to make her feel better, "He has…a complicated history. One that left with him a lot of…let's call it issues. Issues he never properly dealt with. He was usually more interested in helping people. He became known as a hero in the Digital World. But there was always something…off with him. Like he was driven by something other than a desire to do good. And it wasn't until the arrival of the digidestined that we learned how this affected him. He'd gone so long helping others that he'd never once helped himself. He sat on his grief, his…rage, for so long that when he reached its tipping point…"

Leomon paused again, his eyes going downward. Juri could already tell where this was going and could only imagine what he was going to say next about Takato. When he finally looked at her again, "It made a monster - one that could end all life as we knew it if it wanted. It wasn't until he was forced to face it, that he realized how long he'd let it go untreated. Like a wound festering. I just want to be sure that doesn't happen to you Juri. You're a good person. And I will be here for you if you need me. You helped me earlier today. I'd like to help you."

Juri smiled at her partner, feeling at ease with him in a way she didn't usually feel. The lion finally managed a smile back, "I…just can't talk to them. That's all."

"Why not?" Leomon asked. This was so weird for her. She felt downright silly talking to Leomon about her problems. When she finally worked up the courage to look up at the lion, she explained, "I…haven't really felt close to anyone in my family since mom died."

"But your mother is downstairs," Leomon pointed out, "I saw her feeding your younger brother."

"That's not my real mom. She's my step-mom," Juri said, realizing how silly she sounded now that she was saying it out loud. Leomon's smile disappeared when he heard that and he sighed, "She is still your mother, Juri."

"No, she's not," Juri spat out quickly, "She's..."

She wasn't sure what to say next. What was her step mom to her? Not a stranger - they talked to each other. But it was always little stuff. They weren't close in any way. Acquaintances? What was it? She sighed, "I don't know."

"Juri, you can't block her or your family out of your life," Leomon said to her, "Take it from me: life can be taken away so quickly. The last thing you want is to live it alone. You should talk to her. You may find you have a lot in common."

"I don't want to," she replied quietly. Leomon put out a hand on her head, "Want to or not, you have to. They're your family. They deserve to know. I understand that you're scared. I don't understand why, and I'm not sure even you know why. But the bravest thing to do, would be to tell them anyway."

Her eyes looked downward. He was right. She had to. When she was finally able to move her eyes upward, he offered her a smile. He patted her head and explained, "Don't worry. I'll be beside you. If you want to tell them together, then take them out to the garden. We can do this together."

She nodded, "Thank you Leomon."

"I'll see you downstairs, partner," he nodded, climbing back up onto the roof. She smiled. Now came the hard part. For some reason, though, knowing Leomon would be there beside her made it all the easier to do. Her confidence surged as she went back downstairs.

* * *

Several more days passed after they told their parents with Takato conspicuously absent from class. They waited anxiously until the day Takato told them they were ready to go. Then it was just a matter of packing their things. Kari dismissed her class and watched Juri, Kazu, and Kenta come towards her desk. Their bags were more stuffed than usual and they'd each brought an extra duffle with extra clothes and camping gear. At least they'd be prepared - unlike herself of the digidestined were the first time they went. It was hard to miss how excited they were too, something she wished she could share, "Are you all ready?"

"Yep," they all said together. It was still odd to process - before she was the kid going off to the Digital World. Now she was the adult sending off kids on anther dangerous adventure. This must've been how her mother felt years ago when she was a kid. If so, it would explain why she was worried sick. It was definitely an odd feeling to be passing the torch like this. She offered them a smile and gathered her things, "Okay. I'll walk you kids to the park. I want to make sure you get there safe before we go."

"Thanks Miss...um, so should we still be calling you Miss Asaji or can we call you Miss Kamiya?" Kenta asked innocently. It was an odd question and Kari wasn't sure she had an answer for it. She just shrugged it off, "Just call me whatever makes you comfortable."

"Then can I call you Kari?" Kazu asked. For some reason, that really upset her and she promptly smacked his head with her day planner, "You still have to call me Miss. With your behavior, we are not on a first name basis."

"Ouch," Henry commented as he walked into the room, "I'd ask what happened, but it's Kazu so it's weird if he's not getting hit by Rika. Or any other female."

"You made sure to tell your families, right?" Kari asked all of them now that they were here. They all nodded. Of course, whether or not they had would be a different story entirely. Still, she could make their life miserable if they hadn't. She then promptly took out several packets of paper to hand out to them, "Good. These are your homework assignments for your trip. I don't know when you'll be back so I put your assignments for the next month in there. I don't want any of you to fall behind, do you understand? Especially you Kazu!"

"Yes," they all moaned.

She nodded, "Okay, let's go."

She felt a wave of anxiety as they made their way to the park. Still, that didn't deter Kazu or Kenta from being incredibly excited for the chance to go to the Digital World for themselves. They talked animatedly and bounced up and down with every step they took until they reached the park, where they found Mimi and her daughter beside her yellow fox partner. Takato was there too, along with his parents who were minding their distance from the three digimon with him: Andromon, Leomon, and a strange red dinosaur. She stopped at the sight of the familiar faces, amazed to see them again. Especially Leomon, "Leomon?"

The lion looked up at the sound of his name and waved his hand. Takato saw this and followed suit, walking over as he wiped his dirty hands on a rag, "Hey guys! Are you all set?"

"You bet!" Kazu answered excitedly, running ahead to inspect the open panel on Andromon's arm. She looked around and noticed the others hadn't quite arrived yet, and frowned. Maybe they were running late? It was a work day, after all. Then she noticed the smile on Takato's face, a stupid dumb smile that she'd only ever see him wear when he knew something but wasn't saying it. She frowned, "What is it, Tak…Tamer?"

"Just thinking about the last time this happened. It's nice that everyone's getting a proper good bye and everyone's packed up," he grinned.

She nodded in silent agreement, wondering where all the time had gone. Vanished apparently, because she'd never considered how little her world made sense until Takato pointed it out. She couldn't even look at her calendar anymore without seeing the year flashing between different dates. Then Takato added, "So when are you going to have kids? You're great with them already. I'm guessing things didn't work out with…um…hat guy…Takeru!"

"What?" she blinked in surprise, embarrassed by the question. Did her brother think that she and TK were a thing? And not Davis? Even though he was the one she dated.

"Are you kidding? She'd probably give the poor kid a hundred assignments a day!" Kazu complained. Once again, Kari smacked the top of his head with her day planner, "I think all that hair gel you use on your head is leaking into your brain Kazu. You'd better go and clean it out before you go."

"Why does everyone hit me?" Kazu complained. Takato patted his shoulder, "Don't worry. If anything goes wrong, we can use you like a decoy to protect our digimon."

"Gee thanks," Kazu complained. As hesitant as Kari was about sending them off, she knew she couldn't post pone it forever. They had to go. With a reluctant groan, she tapped her brother, "We'd better hurry if we don't want to be late. Lead the way Taka...Tamer...this is still taking some getting used to."

"Tell me about it," he replied, lifting up one leg, "The new legs are nice but they just can't jump as high as the old ones could. They don't run as fast either. Alright, let's go!"

She looked down at his legs, wondering just what went through his head most days. They were about to embark on a mission to the Digital World and he was commenting about his legs. Then again, he had a completely different face the last time she saw him. It wasn't long before the others arrived - little by little until everyone was here. One of them was an odd man with a little girl she didn't recognize, but they had Terriermon with them that the girl cuddled like a doll. The moment they were in view of the others, the digimon hopped out of her arms and ran to Henry, "Finally. Let's go already!"

"Bye-bye Terriermon," the little girl said sadly. Going by appearances and the fact Terriermon was with them, she figured they must've been Henry's family. Likely his dad and sister. Kari was happy to see each of them come, but Takato was less thrilled, "Hello everyone! Come to see us off? Or are you just here to hit me again?"

"Contemplating it," Matt answered dryly, earning an elbow from his wife and an admonishing look. She greeted them more warmly, "We wanted to see you guys off before you left for the Digital World and make sure you were all going to be okay."

"This wasn't my idea. It was mom's," Rika added quickly, turning her head to avoid having to look at the adults. In the presence of her mother and the other digidestined, Rika's tough attitude made her look all the smaller and childish. Her mom was holding several wrapped lunch boxes which she pressed into each of their arms, "These are for you guys so you don't starve while you're there."

"Thanks!" Kazu and Kenta said excitedly, stowing their lunches away. Kari had to admit she was a little envious of them receiving Mimi's home cooking. She'd become a surprisingly good cook in her own and she could still smell some of it from where she was. Then it was Joe's turn, handing them a small duffel bag, "I have some medical supplies set up for you in case you need it. I hope you won't but…this is the Digital World after all."

Henry took the bag and slung it over his shoulder, "You guys thought of everything."

"Just the stuff we wished we had when this happened to us," Joe answered with a smile, "The important thing for you guys is to remember to stick together, no matter what happens. Hm? Is that Leomon?"

He pointed out the lion digimon now with his arms crossed. Upon noting the adults, he waved, "Hello humans."

"Leomon! It's us! The digidestined!" Mimi explained. The lion raised an eyebrow, looking over to Andromon who took one good look at all them, the smallest of smiles drawing his face, "Identity scan software confirms identities. Digidestined. It is a pleasure to see you again."

That was all Leomon needed to put a hand over his chest and sink to one knee with a bow, "Then it is an honor to meet you, Digidestined. Please forgive my rudeness."

"Um. What's happening?" Mimi asked the others.

"Leomon, you don't have to bow," Matt told the lion digimon, trying to get him to stand back up. The lion refused though, staying where he was, "No. I should apologize. I am not the Leomon you knew. I am...well, you used to know me as Koromon...and then I was an Agumon. Now I'm a Leomon."

Kari looked from Leomon to Takato, genuinely confused as Takato flicked the lion on the nose to get his attention and pull him back up. Takato explained, "Believe me, it makes no sense to me either. Leomon isn't even in the Agumon line of digivolution! Anyway, this is what I spent all night on. Guys...this is our ticket to the Digital World."

Although he was standing, the lion still kept a hand over his heart, "The Tamer is correct. I am Leomon, but not the one you travelled with. All the same, it is an honor to meet you."

Kari felt her heart sink a little, recalling how Wizardmon reformatted without his memories and wondering if the same was true here. Then she noticed the red dinosaur sniffing her. It pressed it's snout against her and took a big whiff, "Friend?"

"Guilmon! Down boy," Takato pulled the red dinosaur back but he still tried to sniff her, "She smells familiar."

"She does?"

"I do?" Kari repeated, trying to recall when she would've met this strange red digimon that was now in her face. It took another whiff before asking, "You smell like cat. Do you have a cat?"

"I did," Kari answered with a small frown. He turned his head and proceeded on to smelling the others. As he made his way around to the others, entering their personal space and sniffing them closely, Kari asked, "Is…is that Agumon?"

Takato raised an eyebrow at the question, "That name sounds familiar…should I know who that is?"

"You don't remember?" Kari asked. Takato scratched his head, "I wish I could My head is still all fuzzy honestly. It's coming back a little bit at a time. It's just…taking longer than expected."

Kari wanted to say something, to explain to him who Agumon was. But then she wondered if this was like Wizardmon. The new face meant no memories of his old life. But he seemed to remember her. That had to mean his memories were still in there, right? Or was this him playing dumb?

"HEY!"

"Dad?" Rika gasped out. Kari looked over her shoulder to see Izzy moving his wheelchair towards them with that Yamaki guy just a few feet behind him. Rika and Mimi were quick to join him, helping to push him along, "Thanks, hon."

"I thought we weren't going to see you again for a while," Rika suggested. Izzy held his wife's hand gently before answering, "Your mom told me everything. I wanted to see you off. You're going to have a lot of fun when you get there, but be safe."

"Oh...thanks," she answered quietly, keeping her back to the others. Going off Mimi and Izzy's face, she probably had the biggest grin on it right now and just wanted to hide it. But that didn't address the question of why Yamaki of all people was here. He stepped forward and cleared his throat to get their attention, "If the sentimentalities are done, maybe it's time you guys get going."

"Don't rush this!" Mimi scolded him, "Our family hasn't been together in a while because of you!"

Yamaki took a step back from the family - giving them some space. Izzy mouthed something at him before reaching into a bag he had hanging off the back of his wheel chair, "This is...um...where is it? Oh! Here!"

He produced an old D-Terminal from his bag - one of the old communication devices they'd used on their adventure and passed it to his daughter, "This was how we messaged each other whenever we were in the Digital World. It'll work anywhere and it'll never lose signal. Message us every night so that we know your safe."

"Whoa! COOL!" Kenta said, peering over Rika's shoulder to get a better look at the device. Annoyed at his sudden intrusion, she promptly stepped on his foot, "Read the mood, jerk."

"Ow!" Kenta yelped, hopping backwards on his one foot. Yamaki sighed and stepped forward again, "I was going to wait but he's already ruined the mood anyway. I wanted to give you something too."

He held out a strange looking device - something that looked like a mad scientist's attempt at a cellphone. Naturally, Ruki, Mimi, and Izumi were hesitant to accept it. Unsurprisingly, Takato was more than content to pick it up for himself and examine it in his hand, "Oh, cool! What is it? Some kind…geolocation device but…hmm, these transmitters are inter-dimensional. Like the ones from the D-Terminals or the digivices. Dizzy! You clever genius."

"What makes you think I made it?" Izzy raised up his hands in defense. Yamaki smiled, "Don't think I'm just another government lackey because I have shades and a gun. There's a reason I'm the director of this organization. I wouldn't be if I didn't understand how this works. Or at least, had an idea of how it works. Reverse engineered from Izumi's personal device. It won't open gates, but it will let us know where you are at any given time. Which is good, so we know where to send the extraction teams when you come back."

Takato looked up at him, a surprised look on his face. He almost never seemed surprised, and his next choice words earned him more than a few scoffs from the others, "A human figured it out. A human who has no experience with Ancient technology. When this is all done, we have got to hang out some time. Wait, no. Focus! How do we know you're not going to shoot us on sight when we get from the Digital World?"

Yamaki paused, and she could tell his gaze was fixated on Takato. Then he removed his shades. The look on his face was so much softer - kinder even than what his shades hid. If he wasn't so much of a jerk, she probably would've called him handsome. Then he smiled - something that seemed very out of place, "You won't know. I guess you're going to have to trust me. Like how I'm putting a lot of trust into you by handing over equipment that officially doesn't exist, as well as coming out to meet you. But…right now, I'm more interested in protecting the world than I am in listening to my boss. You kids have been doing a lot better than we ever have. Maybe it's time we let you take the lead on this."

"Thanks," Takato nodded, putting the device in his back pocket. He turned back to the rest of the group, "Okay, it's about time. Let's go open our gate!"

"Gate?" Yamaki repeated curiously, following along just behind them as they ventured further into the park. Once they were far enough in, Takato began to fiddle with the inside of Andromon's arm. As they watched, Izzy asked "How are you going to open a gate?"

Takato snapped his fingers, and adjusted the panel of Andromon's arm so they could see, "Right here. Andromon retrofitted some Ancient Tech to force open a gate between worlds. I fixed it so it'd be more accurate and controlled. Instead of randomly jumping around like a pogo-stick, we'll go exactly where we need to. To the Digital World."

Mrs. Matsuda asked quietly, "So…this is it, huh? You're going now?"

Takato paused, looking up from his work to offer her an apologetic look, "Yeah...I'll...thanks for everything for the last year. We'll...try and find him for you."

Kari looked between Takato and his parents, unsure of what exactly they were talking about. Then she looked to the rest of the new team. Six kids and five digimon ready to go see the Digital World.

She felt a small feeling of helplessness, watching them go off like this to another world. Something that she and the others had done countless times before, but now couldn't. Only this time, Takato…no, Tamer was taking the lead. He looked over his shoulder at them, "We'll be back as soon as we can. With any luck, we'll find Takeru, find the other digimon, figure out what's going on, rescue Calumon, and be back before you know it."

"Be safe," Mimi called out anxiously, looking at her daughter with the saddest smile. Rika only gave her a nod, obviously still not comfortable with the whole being openly affection thing. Henry's dad added, "Henry, come back soon."

"We will dad," Henry nodded. Takato then connected his digivice to Andromon's arm, watching a small soft light started to glow. He looked back at them one more time, gave them a thumbs up and shouted, "Everyone. Keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times. The sensation of nausea and confusion is normal. Here we go! Digiport Open!"

A surge of light surrounded the kids, blinding the rest of them briefly. Once the light faded and Kari could see properly, she saw they were gone. Her chest felt empty, hollow. She wasn't sure she would ever get used to this feeling - the idea that someone else was now holding the fate of the world in their hands. No sooner did they leave, she heard each of their D-Terminals beep. She picked it out of her coat pocket, noticing the others doing the same. Sora read it aloud, "It's from Ruki. She says ' _We made it and we're all okay. We'll message you more later_ '."

"So far so good," Henry's dad sighed, getting ready to leave until another message beeped on their screens. This time Mimi read it, "It's from Ruki again. ' _Resting_ _for the night. We got separated in sand storm. Kazu and Kenta are with me and Renamon. Going to try and find the others in the morning'_."

"Wait, they got separated?" Izzy panicked, "Are they okay?"

"I'm messaging them now," Mimi answered, typing into her D-Terminal furiously. She'd barely managed to get the first words in when another messaged beeped on the screen, "Another one from Ruki. _'Just had breakfast. We're heading out now. Going to find Takato, Guilmon, Henry, Terriermon, Juri, and Leomon'_."

"Please, stop reading," Takato's mom gasped out, looking ready to break down as the depressing messages continued to come in. It seemed her brother was right - time had been convoluted in the Digital World. There was no telling what was going on over there. Her mind raced with panic as she realized that they might've been in over their heads. Davis grunted, "Man, I hate this. There's gotta be something we can do to stop them!"

Yamaki stepped forward and sighed, "I can think of one thing. But I don't think you're going to like it."

"And what's that?" Davis asked. Yamaki gestured, "You can come with me to headquarters. We've got work to do if we're going to help those kids."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** The children are off to save Calumon! But what happened to them in the Digital World? What can the others do to help? Where are the two groups headed? Find out all this and more on the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out in two weeks on Friday August 16th at 5 PM CDT. I'm sorry the next chapter is going to e delayed but I need the extra time to catch up on some work stuff that I've fallen behind in! Let me know what you guys think in the reviews section: thoughts, constructive criticism, and the like. And hey, if you want to see what I got in store for next time, click follow to stay up to date with the latest updates. And don't forget to favorite the story to show support. That's all I have for now, let's look at previews for the next chapter!

 _As soon as she said that, they all found themselves flying towards the ground at break neck speed. And as quickly as it started, it subsided as they gently rolled into a mound of sand in the desert. Rough, coarse sand blowing straight into their clothes and battering their face as it struck them. Then the wind died down and they were able to gather their bearings._

 _Juri dusted herself off, coughing as she tried to get sand out of her mouth and asked, "Is it always like that?"_

" _Only when you're crossing the boundary between worlds," Takato answered, poking his head out of the sand and trying to clear it out of himself. Rika scoffed, "So all the time is what you're saying."_

 _He clicked his tongue, "I didn't say that at all. Ah! Home sweet home! It's a lot dustier than I remember. Andromon, how long was I gone for?"_


	23. Visitors Not Welcome

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 23: Visitors Not Welcome**

Everyone screamed as they felt themselves pulled down, up, back and forth in an endless void of swirling colors and blinding lights. A few times, it felt like they were drowning in water. Other times, it felt like they were suffocating from air. And sometimes, it just felt like standing on solid ground. Through it all, Kazu screamed, "What the hell is going on!?"

"Language!"

"Really Henry?"

"I'll do what the hell I want! You're not my mother!" he spat out.

"Where even are we?" Rika shouted out.

"The space between worlds!" Takato's voice rang out in the endless voice, "This gate is a little sloppier than my usual ones. Give it time! It'll get better. Probably. We should land whenever we get there."

"Land where? All I see is bright lights!" Terriermon shouted back.

"Maybe there?" Juri pointed at what looked like a floating piece of land. As soon as she said that, they all found themselves flying towards the ground at break neck speed. Or falling. The perspective was just plain messy at this point. And as quickly as it started, it subsided as they gently rolled into a mound of sand in the desert. Rough, coarse sand blowing straight into their clothes and battering their face as it struck them. Then the wind died down and they were able to gather their bearings.

Juri dusted herself off, coughing as she tried to get sand out of her mouth, "Is it always like that? If it is, then I don't want to do it anymore."

"Only when you're crossing the boundary between worlds," Takato answered, poking his head out of the sand and trying to clear it out of his hair to little success . Rika scoffed, "So all the time is what you're saying."

He clicked his tongue, "I didn't say that at all. Ah! Home sweet home! It's a lot dustier than I remember. Andromon, how long was I gone for?"

Andromon spun his limbs and his neck to remove the sand from his joints, whirring and beeping grotesquely. Once he finished, he scanned around the desert, "Information: The Digimon Tamer's last recorded sighting in the Digital World was...Error. Time dilations detected, unable to verify passage of time since last sighting."

"Oh that's bad. That is very bad," Takato frowned, retrieving his digivice from his pocket to examine it carefully, "Okay, better be quick then. We don't want to spend too much time here."

"Hold up! What was that about time…dials…whatever?" Kazu asked quickly. Takato put a hand over his eyes to block the sun and started scanning the horizon, ignoring Kazu's question. Kazu called again, "Takato?"

"I thought I already explained this Kazu. Time's become convoluted," Takato answered back, "We may have been here for about a minute, but that doesn't mean time is flowing the same back in the human world. Days, weeks, months, years could've passed. And we're a few days behind Makuramon in that world. Who knows how far behind we are here! Or how far ahead we are! We could be here before Makuramon arrives, which gives us an advantage but it's not like we know which is which."

"Okay, that hurt my head," Leomon grumbled. Frustrated, Terriermon shouted, "Are we going to just sit here and talk about this or are we going to go find Calumon already? This heat is killing me and I don't like sitting around here doing nothing!"

"Terriermon's right. We should get moving," Henry agreed solemnly, wiping his brow, "The sooner we get out of this heat, the better. Where to first?"

"If I had to guess, that would be a good place to start," Rika pointed off into the distance. Somehow, in the confusion of their arrival, they all missed a giant glowing orb of light over the horizon. It was almost like a second sun, but closer to the ground and nowhere near as blinding. Takato took a good look at it and asked, "Hey, Andromon. When were you going to tell me about the big glowing light in the Digital World that wasn't here last time?"

"Answer: The light was not present during departure for the human world. This light is unknown at this time," Andromon answered flatly, staring at it intensely, "Optical Zoom at 50. Moving figure spotted. Unable to identify at this time."

Kazu pointed straight at it, waving the flag in his hand, "Well I say we go that way! I betcha Calumon is right there."

Rika raises up her digivice "What about our digivices? I mean, it can detect and identify digimon when they come from the other side, right? Why wouldn't it be able to find Calumon here?"

"Maybe?" Takato examined his own, "My old one broke and I can't still figure out how this specific model works. It's like…going from a computer to a calculator."

Rika cycled through the options on her digivice but didn't find anything out of the ordinary. In truth, she hadn't done much to experiment with the digivice since she got it. It usually just set off alarms whenever something happened and powered up Renamon when she swiped cards through the card reader. And from the looks of it, neither Henry or Juri had either. Renamon folded her arms at their hesitation and grunted, "We've been sitting idle for long enough and I'm not hearing any better ideas. Let's go…and everyone stick together. The last thing we need is to get separated from each other in a dangerous place like this."

"Hang on!" Kazu shouted aloud to stop them. He reached into his bag produced a collapsible pole that he reassembled and a piece of cloth that he mounted on top. With a firm shove into the ground, he shouted, "This is one small step for 'mon! One giant leap for 'mon kind!"

"Alright! It's picture time!" Kenta added happily, waving a digital camera in the air excitedly, "Come on guys! What are you waiting for! Kodak moment for our first time in the Digital World."

"What is he talking about?" Leomon looked at the rest of them in confusion. Rika closed her eyes, "It's a thing people do in our world. They take photos of every little thing to make memories of whatever. It doesn't matter how unimportant it is."

"Oh don't be like that Rika! This is important! It's our first time in the Digital World! Come on!" Juri cheered excitedly, taking hold of the poor girl and dragging her over to the flag. Rika wanted to protest but saw Renamon already perched atop the pole. Rika couldn't believe what she was seeing, "Not you too, Renamon!"

"I'm curious Rika. Besides, I get a pretty good view from up here. I can scout for danger while our photos are taken," Renamon answered flatly. Rika sighed in defeat and went along with getting their pictures taken, watching the others assemble beside the flag. Kenta took his time with each photo: first everyone, then just the humans, then just the digimon, the girls, and finally just the boys. Once they were done, Kenta excitedly started examining the pics only to groan, "Oh, what? What happened to my pictures? They're all fuzzy and blurry."

"That's never happened before," Takato called out, snatching the camera to see for himself, "I definitely remember Dizzy's computer worked fine. I wonder what happened here?"

"Well we are in another world. Maybe it's messing with the electronics?" Henry assumed quietly.

"That sucks. I brought this camera for nothing," Kenta sighed in defeat. Kazu picked up the flag and declared, "Don't worry about it. We got a lot more stuff to do. Let's just bring home some souvenirs while we're here!"

"What souvenirs? There's nothing but sand for miles," Kenta pointed out quietly. He marched along with them but sounded entirely annoyed by the loss of his photos. Rika decided now would be a good time to message her mom. She was probably worried sick about her already and started typing her message. She pulled out the D-Terminal and opened the lid. To say it was like nothing she'd ever seen would be an understatement. It was like a crammed keyboard and screen but it ran like it was a brand new computer. Still, part of her was just a little excited to think that her dad used to be one of the characters in her favorite book and that this was his D-Terminal. Without even thinking, she started typing aloud as she spoke, "We made it and we're all okay. We'll message you more later."

She wasn't sure which of the contacts were her mom so she simply hit send all. She closes the lid once the message was sent and noticed everyone was looking at her with the biggest of smiles. It was creepy in how unnerving it was, "What?"

"Just admiring how much more you've been opening up lately," Juri answered, folding her arms behind her back as her smile widened. Rika grunted, closed her eyes and put the device away, "Whatever. Let's get going already."

"Leomon, is the entire Digital World like this? Just miles of desert in every direction," Juri asked her partner aloud. Leomon grunted, "No. I don't know where this is but I've seen a lot of the Digital World: vast oceans, thick forests, steaming jungles, high peaked mountains, frosted glaciers, and more. The whole of the Digital World is as varied and diverse as your world I imagine. Unless I'm mistaken in thinking your entire world is just one big city."

"Yeah, I guess that would be silly if the world were just one big desert," Juri giggled quietly. Takato pocketed his hands, "Don't be too sure of that. There are lots of worlds that only have one kind of environment, if they have any at all."

"And how would you know that?" Kazu rolled his eyes in disbelief. Without skipping a beat or even cracking a smile, Takato answered, "Got stuck outside reality for a while - it was an abstract void of nothingness. Took me forever to find a way back to the Digital World. Went through a lot worlds in the process. One with naked giants trying to break down a wall, another where the whole world was flooded and dry land wasn't a concept, another where the only light came from a fire that everyone was really anxious to throw themselves into so it would burn a little longer. That world was…different. Also, does anyone else feel like something is off?"

"We're in another world goggle head! What part of this isn't weird?" Rika snapped at him. Takato laughed, "You have me there. No, I was thinking about how…I don't know…it feels like your world still. Like we never left."

"Well you said that there were two versions of our world sitting on top of each other. Maybe this is the same thing?" Kenta reasoned quietly. Takato's eyes widened and he spun around to face him, "Say that again."

"What?"

"Again! Say it again!"

"I was just saying that maybe there are two digital worlds sitting on top of each other," Kenta repeated quietly. Takato slapped a hand to his forehead, groaning in disbelief, "Of course! Of course! I'm an idiot! Henry! You're dad said he invented digimon! But the Digital World is infinitely old! UNLESS! He didn't build this Digital World! He built another one with his friends. And it started to intersect with this one! I'm an idiot! How did I miss that? It's no wonder nothing makes sense! There aren't three worlds sitting on top of each other! There are four! Not just two human worlds with conflicting histories and realities! Two digital worlds! That's what all of this is!"

"He's doing that thing where he's not making sense again," Kazu scratched the back of his head in confusion. The rest of them nodded in agreement but Terriermon chimed in, "He may not be talking sense but he's got more sense than any of us when it comes to this stuff. I say we keep listening to him and maybe we'll all make it out of this okay!"

"So basically do what my parents did back when they were our age?" Rika took the chance to shoot him a dirty look. Takato frowned at that, throwing up his hands defensively, "Your mom has issues with me. Actually, so did a lot of them. That's alright."

"Wait, I thought you said you couldn't remember much," Kenta pointed out. Takato smiles back, "Yeah, but being in the Digital World is helping to make it easier to remember things. It's like...oh! It's like when you have a horrible headache that finally goes away for the first time."

He said that with gleefully, and Terriermon commented, "Wow. That bad, huh? It's no wonder you do crazy stuff some times."

* * *

Juri had no idea what any of them were talking about. It was so confusing. But being in a strange new world like this was kind of exciting. And she was eager to learn as much about it as she could. So she looked to her partner, "Hey Leomon. What can you tell us about the Digital World?"

A big toothy grin came across his face and he beamed at her "What would you like to know Juri?"

"Anything, really. I don't know a whole lot about digimon. A lot of what I do know is just from what's been going on," she answered sheepishly. Leomon beat his chest proudly, "I will be happy to tell you any and all tales that would suit you, Juri. How about I tell you the story of the fallen hero? Or perhaps a tale of the Royal Knights? Stories of monsters and villains. I can even share a little history, but that's not really my specialty."

"A story sounds nice. What was that one about the Royal Knights?" Juri asked excitedly. She noticed Leomon begin breathing heavily with excitement as he began, "The Digital World has been home to many a hero in its time. But the Digital Knights were among the greatest of these heroes, gathered together by Imperialdramon during a dark time to help strike back and bring order. Of these heroes, one rose to become their leader: Alphamon, the Knight of the First Seat. In his absence, the Knights are led by Omegamon or some say Omnimon. And there were many strong digimon in their ranks: Gallantmon or some say Dukemon, Dynasmon, BanchoLeomon, Magnamon, UlforceVeedramon, Crusadermon, Examon. Together, they served to enforce order in the Digital World at the behest of its one true ruler: a being they call the king. That which is sublime, they preserve. That which is weak, they protect. That which threatens, they destroy. Some call them the first heroes of this world. But, as with all heroes and all unions, it was only a matter or time before they were driven apart - some say it started with The Great War, the war that threatened to tear our world apart. Each had their own ideas on how to end it, and their unity was tested by it. It broke, as they turned on each other. Some say they slew each other, others say they went into hiding - knowing their struggle was threatening to destroy an already fragile world. Whichever it was, they haven't been seen in a long time as a result. It is said though, that they will reveal themselves when the Digital World needs them most, doing all they can to save it before disappearing again. In my time I've seen at least two: Magnamon and Imperialdramon. If I live long enough, I would like to see more."

Kazu threw his arms behind his head, "That's lame. They only show up when you're already screwed. What's the point?"

Juri didn't agree. If anything, she felt the story was kinda sad. What would cause these heroes to turn on each other like that? "So...what was this war thing that drove them apart?"

Leomon sighed, "No one can say for sure. It was so long ago that few digimon remember what the reason even was. The few who did are either dead, in hiding, or no longer with us."

"Isn't that a fancy way of saying dead?" Henry looked back, joining the conversation too. Juri looked ahead to see the rest of the group looking back at her and Leomon. She was t sure when that had happened but she was embarrassed to suddenly be the center or attention. Leomon was much more welcoming of his listeners and answered, "Not at all! Life and death is different for digimon compared to you humans. I understand that human life ends upon death. But for a digimon, and all digital life really, that is much more complicated."

"Yeah, you guys reformat or something, right?" Henry asked aloud, "I remember that part from the books. The weak lose their memories, but the strong can retain their memories and part of their personality, right?"

"That is only if our data is able to disperse freely. It takes time but it can coalesce back into an egg. But for others, that isn't the case. You noticed I absorbed Indramon's data when I defeated him. He is dead but not dead. It would be more accurate to say we became one. He is in me or rather, I have absorbed him into my being. We are one entity, sharing thoughts, knowledge, memories, and skills. However, I am the dominant personality. If you're still following me."

Juri's head spun in confusion at that annoying explanation. If it even was supposed to be one. Rika must've understood it though because she asked, "Wait, does that mean you know what the Devas were up to? If you have his memories, why don't you tell us? Renamon! Why didn't you tell us?"

"What else was there to add that we didn't already know?" she replied matter of factly. Rika raised an eyebrow, "How would we know that? So does that mean you already knew?"

Renamon shook her head, remaining stoic in her answer, "Not at all. In truth, I've learned nothing I didn't already know. Well, besides WarGreymon perishing. That is a serious loss to all the Digital World. And also explains why the devas were in such a panic. Other than that, there was absolutely nothing I could have shared that we didn't already know. The devas are looking for the catalyst, there's some kind of danger coming that scared them and the Sovereigns, and they were desperate enough to try and break the barrier between worlds."

"Is that why digimon started showing up in our world?" Henry asked, looking over to Terriermon. Terriermon's ears perked up, "Hey! You brought me to your world. That had nothing to do with me."

"Many digimon knew there was a great danger coming, so we scrambled to become stronger. We turned on each other. How we ended up in the Real World is something I can't answer though. For me, the gate just appeared and I felt a calling to you. You were looking for a strong digimon partner and i was the strongest there at the time," Renamon said to Rika, her expression as unreadable as ever. Than didn't help Rika from looking like she was trying to hide the biggest scowl ever. After an uncomfortably long silence between them, Leomon offered, "To be entirely fair to Renamon, I don't think any digimon outside the sovereigns really know what's going on."

"The sovereigns. If I remember from the show, those are Azulongmon and three others, right?" Kazu asked excitedly, "So are we going to go meet them? Cause dude, that'd be so awesome to get to see those guys in real life! I even have his card! Do you think he'll sign it?"

He excitedly produced his deck and scanned through it before holding up a card for them to see. On it was an azure dragon with long flowing white hair, wrapped in chains and curling in on itself. Upon seeing it, Takato snatched the card from him, "This was him! Azulongmon! That's his name! Right! And Zhuqiaomon, the vermillion bird of the south! And there was...um...Ebonwumon! The tortoise of the north! And Baihumon, the tiger of the west! These guys are the protectors of the Digital World! It's all coming back now! They were...I...uh...oh..."

"Spit it out gogglehead," Rika snapped at him, "You keep doing that thing where you get excited and talk a mile a minute. Don't also start pausing for no reason. What is it?"

"Sorry," Takato shook his head, trying his hardest to avoid eye contact with them, "Renamon, you said WarGreymon was gone, right?"

"Yes, why?"

"What happened?" Takato murmured. Renamon shrugged and looked at both Andromon and Leomon. Both shifted uncomfortably, but the silence said more than words could. Then Leomon added, "We wanted to tell you. We just...weren't sure how to."

Takato gave no answer, sheepishly handing Kazu his card back and continuing walking ahead without them. Kazu shouted to get his attention but he didn't even look back, "Hey! Takato! What's with him?"

"If he is who he claims, then it's no surprise," Renamon folded her arms, "The Digimon Tamer had a partner of his own. WarGreymon - one of, if not the bravest digimon in the Digital World. The two were close to each other in a way that can't be put into words. Until The Digimon Tamer vanished. WarGreymon stood guard in his absence. If he is The Digimon Tamer, it can be said that he is truly alone now."

"Why is that?" Juri asked. Renamon started walking after him, "I will explain as I walk...or rather, Leomon can since he was there. My knowledge is second hand."

Leomon grunted quietly, "She is right, The Digimon Tamer is truly alone now. You recall that conflict I mentioned, yes? The Great War as it's called. It didn't just threaten our world. It threatened all worlds. The Digital World. The Human World. All other worlds. A long time ago, perhaps before even the sovereigns themselves, there was a race called the Digital Agents, but they had other names. Today, we refer to them as the Ancients. Although he seems insistent on calling them the Guardians. From atop their holy bastion, they looked down upon the lesser life forms of this world and others - sworn to observe and guide only when needed, for the Ancients had one thing that no other race could. They could see the ebb and flow of destiny: what was, what is, what could be, what must be, what can't be, and what must not. But something came, something out of the cold dark outside their purview. What it was is forgotten today but the Ancients waged a war against it. A war so devastating that it spread across other worlds like wild fire. In the end, the war destroyed countless worlds and altered the very fabric of reality. The only survivors of that long forgotten war were The Digimon Tamer and his partner WarGreymon. Everyone else perished. And now, with WarGreymon gone, it would seem that The Digimon Tamer is the last. One can only wonder what that kind of isolation does to a mind."

"All the more reason to keep up with him in case he does something really stupid," Renamon added, hurrying her pace. Juri's eyes were fixed on Takato now, wondering what exactly was going through his head. He always became uncharacteristically quiet when something was bothering him. And he was very quiet right now.

They continued on towards the bright light in the distance in silence after that. Well, mostly silence as Kazu and Kenta chatted excitedly about what exactly they'd get to run into in the Digital World. And soon, they found themselves getting passed by a dozen small glowing balls bouncing along the ground, "What is that?"

"They look like tumble weeds. Digital tumble weeds? Is that a thing?" Kazu said aloud, watching them bounce along. Andromon finally spoke, "Information: These are data fragments from deleted digimon that haven't reached Primary Village, coalescing into barely sentient entities with barely any will of their own."

"Oh, that's so sad," Juri said quietly, watching the balls bounce along and wondering just who they were before they became this. Could they think? Could they feel? Were they even aware that this is what they were? It didn't help that Renamon added, "This is the Digital World and that is its only real law: the weak die, the strong live. Don't feel too sorry for them."

"What happened here?" Takato asked at just above a whisper.

"Where are they going anyway? There's no wind," Kenta pointed out, adjusting his glasses to see what lay just ahead of them. Andromon pointed ahead, "Observation: they're probably fleeing from that."

They followed his pointed finger to see Takato still walking with his head down. And just ahead of him was a digimon whose body was made of bright orange flames. It slowly stomped towards him, spreading out his hands to create two burning flames as he shouted, "Who are you and what are you doing in my domain?"

Takato didn't answer. In fact, he didn't even seem to register Meramon was there. He just kept walking right up to it. Guilmon had already rushed ahead to growl at him but that didn't stop either of them from walking towards each other. Rika groaned, "That idiot! What is he doing? Renamon! You have to help him before he gets himself killed to that Meramon!"

Meramon. Juri looked ahead at the digimon and wondered just why Takato was ignoring it. And that was definitely annoying the digimon more. Just as Meramon raised his fist to deal an attack, Renamon and Guilmon dashed ahead, "Pyrosphere!"

"Diamond Storm!"

Both attacks took Meramon by surprise and he instead moved his arms to defend himself, "You fiends, attacking me with your numbers. You won't beat me with such tactics!"

"Takatomon!" Guilmon called out to him, rushing at the boy and sliding between his legs to throw him onto his back. The boy didn't even register that he was was on his partner now as the digimon started retreating back to the others - leaving Renamon alone to deal with Meramon. Guilmon slid to a stop beside the others and Rika scolded him, "What's the matter with you Gogglehead? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Takato didn't answer and was still spaced out. Henry waved his hands in front of his face and even snapped his fingers to get his attention, "He's definitely out of it. Maybe we should leave him be for a while."

"Leave him be? We're in another world where the first person we met tried to kill us and he wants to...do whatever this is!" Rika shouted out angrily, "You know what? Forget it. Well take out Meramon on our own! Renamon! Kick some of this sand on him to douse his flames!"

"Excellent idea, Rika!" Renamon complied, whipping her tail along the sand to kick up a small cloud of want at Meramon. The digimon roared in disgust, covering his eyes, "More cheap tricks? You won't get me with that! Learn to fight with honor!"

"I take offense to that," Renamon spat out, charging straight into Meramon and kicking him across his jaw, "Take this!"

The digimon staggered back in surprise, angered that she'd gotten the drop on him, "Grah! You think you're so strong! Take this!"

He threw a fireball at Renamon, who managed to leap over the attack and kick more sand at Meramon. Watching the fight play out, Terriermon couldn't help but state, "I'm all for watching a good fight, but does anyone else think it's kinda one sided? I mean, Meramon hasn't even gotten a hit in."

"And here I thought you would've wanted to join in," Henry murmured. Terriermon shrugged at that suggestion, "I don't know, I still might if Meramon gets a lucky hit in. If, Henry. If. Don't look at me like that."

"Well, I don't think he's going to anytime soon," Kazu folded his arms behind his head just as Renamon got another good kick in, throwing Meramon onto his back. The fiery digimon lay on the ground, holding his hands up in defeat, cursing at them furiously, "You fiends! You've defeated me! Just go ahead and finish it already! You…you…dirty, vile cheaters! Using cheap tactics like that."

"We're not finishing anything," Renamon answered seriously, offering him a hand to help him stand up, "As for cheap, you're the one who attacked a defenseless human boy who didn't even realize you were there. Now stop your whimpering and tell us why you attacked."

Meramon became defensive, "You entered my territory! All I wanted was a little peace and quiet, but you crazy digimon keep coming here trying to pick fights. I don't care if you want to fight each other until you're all dead just do it away from me! But if you're so insistent on fighting me to the death, then finish it already so I don't have to deal with this conversation."

"I ALREADY SAID WE'RE NOT DOING THAT!" Renamon said more loudly, but it still didn't seem to register with Meramon. Juri looked at Leomon in confusion, wondering if all digimon were like this. Her partner shrugged back, just as lost as she was. Then Terriermon provided another observation, "Talk about melodramatic. Look buddy, we're not going to kill you! We're looking for one of our friends. A little digimon named Calumon. He was taken by a monkey called Makuramon. Have you seen them?"

"Wait, so you're not here to kill me?" Meramon looked up at them with a raised eyebrow. Rika scoffed, "Are you kidding? We've been saying that!"

"He's kinda slow, isn't he?" Terriermon turned his head. Andromon shook his head, "Negative. Meramon's speed is within acceptable parameters for his type. Renamon simply moved faster than he could."

"It's called a joke buddy, learn what that is," Terriermon frowned in disbelief. Meramon pushed himself up, dusting the dirt off himself before answering, "Well, I haven't seen a monkey ever. And I don't even know what a Calumon is. Is that a baby digimon?

"I mean…you're not wrong," Terriermon answered, earning himself a smack from Henry, "Be nice."

"What? He is kind of an odd ball," Terriermon said in his defense. Henry just sighed, covering his face in disbelief at his partner's own disregard for polite behavior. Juri giggled a little though. It was nice that the fighting was over, especially since it seemed like the only thing that got hurt was Meramon's pride. Then she looked over at Takato who still appeared to be stuck in a daze. All this had transpired, and it seemed like he hadn't noticed.

She could feel herself shaking, worried for him. But then the shaking didn't stop. In fact, it seemed to be getting stronger. Kazu asked, "Is there an earthquake?"

"Not an earthquake, a stampede," Terriermon said as his ears perked up. He pointed off into the horizon towards a small dust cloud and a beam of light coming towards them, "I can hear it! It's coming from over there!"

"What is that?" Kenta asked, adjusting his glasses to get a better look. Juri felt her digivice beep again and examined it, watching an image come on screen of what looked like a dog covered in rocks with a plant for a tail, "Jagamon, a vegetable digimon that are known for migrating in large herds. Is that bad?"

Leomon explained, "Only if we get stampeded. Maybe we should move. Meramon, is there a safe place nearby where we could hide?"

"Sure, I'll just invite you in," Meramon began with an insincere tone, "It's not like I said I want to be left alone. What's with all these visitors I'm getting today? Forget that, JAGAMON! IF YOU COME ANY CLOSER, I WILL DESTR-Wait! I SAID WAIT! Uh-oh! AARGH!"

His threats fell on deaf ears as he was summarily run over by the stampede. Renamon leapt back to Rika's side before she could be trampled by the horde of digimon and warned, "We should get out of the way."

"Good idea," Henry said, already turning to run out of their path. Henry, Terriermon, Juri, Leomon, and Guilmon carrying Takato all moved to one side of the stampede. Rika, Renamon, Kazu, Kenta, and Andromon retreated to the opposite side. Both groups could only look on at each other and the stampede of Jagamon as they continued streaming past in some kind of collective panic. In fact, when Juri concentrated on what they were all saying, it sounded like they were all screaming, "Run away! Run away! Run away! Run away!"

"What are they running from?" Juri asked Leomon, following the stampede back to see the pillar of light inexorably advancing towards them. Leomon pointed at it, "Likely that. It's a data stream. They became a lot more frequent in the Digital World lately. We're not entirely sure what they are beyond the fact that they just pull you to another part of the Digital World. Only it's entirely at random. Don't worry. Based on its path, it'll go right past us."

Juri traced the path with her own eyes, uncertain of Leomon's assessment and gasped. It would miss them. It would also hit the others. And they didn't even notice because they were too busy watching the Jagamon run past to notice, "GUYS! RUN! DON'T LET THE LIGHT HIT YOU!"

Rika shouted something back but it was hard to hear over the roar of the stampeding Jagamon. Juri pointed at the light and shouted again, "LOOK OUT FOR THE LIGHT!"

Rika shouted again. It was no use. They couldn't hear each other. And then they started bickering - at least that's how it looked from where she was standing. Henry tried his luck next, "Guys! Look out for the light!"

It was still no use. And then, like some kind of cosmic prank, they finally realized the pillar of light was coming straight at them. It was too late for them to run from it, and too late for Juri or the others to do anything to help them. All they could do was watch in silent terror as the light sucked them up into the sky. Leomon frowned, "Well. That's bad."

"We need to go after them!" Juri declared pointing at the pillar of light as it continued on. Before she could even try to run after it, Leomon grabbed her by the shoulder, holding tight despite her protests to chase after it, "I understand how you feel Juri, but that's not a good idea. If we jump into the light, there's no guarantee that we'll go where they went. It's better for everyone if we don't."

"We can't just leave them!" she protested. Leomon nodded, "I'm not saying we abandon them. I'm saying we look for them the old fashioned way. It'll be easier to start from where we know we are than it will be for us to chase after them and getting just as lost."

Juri felt her heart sink into the pit of her stomach. They'd only been in the Digital World for an hour and they were already separated. Takato was out of it. Half of them were lost, some place else in the Digital World. She hoped this wasn't a signal of things to come.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** The rescue mission has already run into disaster! Will Takato snap out of his funk? Can they find the others before they find more trouble? Will they be okay without them? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out next week on Friday, August 23rd at 5 PM CDT. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. And don't forget to follow the story to keep up with updates and favorite to show support! That's all for now! Let's look at previews for the next chapter!

" _But the headache is what kept us safe!" Clockmon countered, "Now he will wake up and bring a hundred years of death and destruction upon us! He'll change all the clocks, reprogram our VCRs, change the language settings on our computers, and steal everyone's left shoe!"_

 _Rika had just about enough nonsense for one day, "Okay, I'm going to start ignoring you guys now. Let me know when you're ready to start making sense."_

" _But you don't understand!" Hagurumon panicked, "He's going to kill us all!"_

" _Who is?" Kazu asked curiously enough, signaling a low rumble to start in the distance. The snowy land began to rip itself apart and split open for a massive orange dragon with mechanical claws and wings to emerge from the earth. Clockmon pointed at the digimon, "He is! Megadramon! Destroyer of lands, breaker of our things, and bully of us!"_


	24. Rika in Wonderland

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 24: Rika in Wonderland**

Rika and the others fell for some time. At least that was how it felt to her. With how traveling worked in the Digital World, she wouldn't be surprised if they were actually flying up instead. But there was no time to dwell on that. They were still being sent to who knows where and the others were back where they first arrived in the Digital World and they were separated from the others . She tried to keep a mental track of where they were going but it was impossible to keep it all straight without any actual sense of direction. She remembered seeing desert, trees, rivers, oceans, mountains, plains, and then she began to lose track of things.

Before she knew it, they were hurtling down into a ravine and straight into the river below. If there was any consolation with their current situation, it was that both Kazu, Andromon, and Kenta were in this ordeal with them. Then the two boys got knocked out by impact. It would buy her a few minutes of silence, until she remembered that she would need to keep their heads above water so they wouldn't drown. She struggled against the current and grabbed a hold of one of them as they floated past, trying to turn this one so he'd be face up. From the brief glimpse she could get while she wasn't trying to keep herself afloat, she could make out a green hat and spiky hair. Because of course the more annoying one would be the one she grabbed.

She tried scanning the water but couldn't find Kenta, "Renamon! We need to keep these guys from drowning!"

No answer. The silence turned to panic at the thought that Renamon may have sunk into the water too. She tried turning her head and didn't see her anywhere. Had she already sunk into the water? No, that couldn't be it. She considered dropping Kazu to go find her - no, she couldn't live with herself if he drowned. But what should she do? What could she do?

The water broke beside her as Renamon emerged from the water holding Kenta in her arms, "Rika! Rika! Are you okay?"

"Renamon, I'm fine!" she said, breathing a sigh of relief. She was alive. Good. Renamon grabbed a hold of her with her free hand, "Hold on, I'm going to get us out of here!"

"Right," Rika adjusted herself so that could hold Renamon with one arm and still keep Kazu from getting pulled into the current. Once she was properly braced, Renamon bobbed in the water to prep herself for a jump. And then they were in the air, Renamon angling herself to leap from canyon wall to canyon wall until they were out of the ravine and on solid ground. Instantly, Renamon collapsed on the ground - coughing up water and spit. Rika did the same, throwing Kazu off her so that she could get a good breath of air, "We made it."

"Yeah," Renamon gasped, her eyes growing heavy before she fainted. Rika felt a small wave of panic return, but it was overpowered by a growing fatigue and darkness. Maybe she'd rest for a minute. Yeah, a short nap. That would do it. Then she'd check on her partner. She assured herself that she would close her eyes only for a few minutes as she drifted off into darkness.

* * *

Rika jolted awake when she remembered they were in the Digital World. They had to go find the others before they ran into trouble. Or trouble found them. Renamon couldn't protect all three of them. She scrambled upright and tried to take in her surroundings only to find they were no longer out in the open of the Digital World. She was lying in a darkened bedroomed on a soft cushioned bed under nice and warm blankets. Glancing around the room, she found two other beds with figures lying under the blankets. And going by the snores, it was Kazu and Kenta. At least they were okay. But when did they get here? And where was Renamon?

She threw the covers off and climbed off the bed to find her shoes at the foot of the bed. Whoever brought them here had also taken her shoes off. Now there was confusion on top of the concern. Who did this and who saved them? She felt her way through the dark room until she found what seemed like a door knob and opened it just a crack.

On the other side was a room dimly lit by a fire in a fireplace. There were two chairs facing towards it and she could vaguely make out two figures sitting comfortably in the chairs. And there was a third figure, Renamon leaning against the fireplace with her arms folded. She seemed calm and at ease. That put her mind at ease, giving her the energy to crack the door open. Renamon turned her head to look at her, "I'm glad to see you're awake Rika."

"I'm glad to see you're okay too Renamon," Rika smiled at her partner. She was hoping the light would give her a better view of who was sitting in the chairs but it was still too dim to see properly, "What happened? How did we get here?"

"We happened!" a gravelly voice answered her, one of the figures rising from the chair. It reached into the dark and turned on a lamp that lit up the room - enabling her to better see them. They were short digimon dressed in long, flowing robes. One was a scraggly old humanoid with an overgrown beard that completely obscured his face. The other was an older woman with her hair tied into a bun at the top of her head. And both carried walking sticks - or rather a broom and a cane with a paw on the end. The older male greeted her, "It's about time you kids woke up, I thought I was going to die from the anticipation!"

"Anticipation for what?" Rika asked. Her answer came in the form of the scraggly old man bringing his stick down on her, "TAKE THIS!"

Rika moved out of the way, "What gives? Renamon! Help!"

"Just keep running Rika," Renamon answered calmly, "Or let him hit you. Either way, he'll stop from being tired or he'll stop from disappointment."

Rika looked at her partner in disbelief, her jaw falling open as she mouthed, "Are you serious?"

Renamon nodded. Rika was not in the business of letting herself get hit, so she stopped in her tracks to face the chasing old man. She grabbed the old digimon's walking stick before it struck her head and used it to smack the digimon back. The digimon stopped for a moment, seemingly shocked from being attacked.

"Hmph. I'm disappointed. Kids these days ain't got no respect," the little digimon grunted, snatching his stick back and resting it on his shoulder. He retreated back to his chair, grumbling about giving them shelter in their home only to be struck on the head by her. The irony wasn't lost on Rika who wanted to point out they attacked first. The other digimon spoke with a raspy voice, "That wasn't much of a fight. How do you expect to be entertained if you're not going to try your hardest at fighting sweetie?"

"What are you guys talking about?" Rika demanded, now as annoyed as she was confused. Renamon finally stepped away from her spot on the wall and explained, "These are Jijimon and Babamon. They're the ones who rescued us after we climbed out of the ravine. They're also...different."

The elder Babamon pointed her broom at them, "Hey! You lot are the one who're different, falling out of the sky like that and then climbing out onto our lawn! What do they teach kids these days, anyways? Besides, you ain't a digimon little girl."

Jijimon agreed, prodding her with his cane, "She's right, we know you're a human. Just look at those noodley arms and pineapple hair! You probably can't even bench one of you."

All that did was annoy Rika more, "So if you knew I was a human, why did you go trying to attack me?"

Jijimon and Babamon swapped looks, and then looked back at her, "Honestly? We were bored and wanted to see if humans could fight. So far we're not impressed. Maybe those boys can put up more of a fight whenever they wake up. Either way, I thought humans were supposed to be strong! Or are you just one of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer types?"

Rika wasn't even sure where to begin dissecting that one. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer? What did a Christmas song have to do with anything? She massaged her head to soothe the headache she was having before asking, "Okay, what? Look, why did you help us?"

"It would've been rude to just leave you lying out in our lawn while you were injured," Babamon explained, finally rising off her chair to meet Rika. She was a lot smaller up close now that Rika could get a good look at her. The little old digimon probably couldn't see as well since she used her broom to pull Rika close, "You look a little thin. Don't they feed you right in the human world? You must be starving. Poor thing. Come with me into the kitchen and we'll make you some good eating. I hope you like bread and pancakes because we've got plenty of flour to use!"

Before Rika could even try to protest, Babamon started pushing her into the kitchen and threw an apron at her, "Put that on and wash your hands."

Rika looked at the apron, then at her hands. She wasn't sure when it happened, but she had lost control of the situation. Worse, she had basically turned into a baker! When had she become goggle head? She sighed and threw the apron on, pondering what the two digimon were playing at. Was this a trick? Renamon always said the law of the Digital World was that the weak died so that the strong could live. And these two could've easily taken them out while they were unconscious. Despite her misgivings, she went along with it.

It was just in time as Babamon handed her a bowl with a bag of flour in it, "Here you go! Go ahead and start mixing that with some water while I get the rest of the ingredients!"

She sighed and followed the instructions, being careful to keep an eye on Babamon in case she tried to mix poison into the mix. All the while, Babamon just hummed to herself quietly as she worked in the kitchen. After a while Babamon remarked, "If you're looking to stare me to death, then you should know that I was quite the looker back in the day and it'll take more than that to stop me."

Rika looked away in embarrassment, sheepishly adding, "I'm just trying to figure out why you helped us."

Babamon laughed, "Relax. It's like my babushka Jijimon said, it would've been rude to leave you kids out there by yourselves after you fell out of the sky and crawled out of that ravine. Besides, if we wanted to hurt you, we would've done it in your sleep. There's enough fighting in the Digital World already. It doesn't need anymore."

"Babushka?" Rika repeated quietly, unsure of what that word meant before realizing that wasn't what she should be paying attention to, "He attacked me as soon as I got out of the bedroom!"

Without even flinching, Babamon answered, "We wanted to see how strong you were! You're partner said you helped her digivolve all the way to the Ultimate level! A few whacks from a cane should've been nothing to you."

"That's really not how that works," Rika answered, only to get a rolling pin handed to her. Babamon added, "Now that you've got the dough mixed, go ahead and knead it and used the rolling pin to flatten it!"

"What kind of bread are we even making?" she asked. Babamon shushed her and returned to whatever she was doing, leaving Rika alone again to follow her instructions in utter silence. As much as Rika had questions, she was glad Babamon was not a talker - the last thing she wanted was to engage in some unwanted small talk conversation. Especially when she still wasn't sure that she could trust the elderly digimon at all. Her mind raced with every possibility - what if food in the Digital World was poisonous to humans? Or what if the food was drugged? Maybe they were already drugged while they were asleep and Babamon was just waiting for them to keel over. Or maybe they were just being lulled into a false sense of security? Or maybe she was just being paranoid.

She turned all these thoughts over in her head until she heard a crash from the living room and went to investigate. Babamon followed along just behind her to see for herself, but neither of them was expecting the spectacle they found. Kazu and Kenta were standing atop the arm chairs - using a fire poker and a broom to fend off Jijimon who was coming at them with his cane. After trading a few bouts, Jijimon leapt at them and the two boys fell backwards off their chairs. It didn't take long for everyone to scramble back to their feet and the fight to continue, all while Renamon observed from the far corner of the living. Rika sighed, "What's going on here?"

"We don't know! He attacked us!" Kenta yelped as he slammed into a wall - or rather was pushed gently into it by Jijimon's beating stick, "Why are you running away? I thought you humans were supposed to be brave and strong! Stop running away!"

"Who said anything about being brave!?" Kenta cried as he snuck out from under the bre. Not wanting to be lumped in with Kenta, Kazu quickly shouted, "I'm just retreating to a more advantageous position!"

"There's an expression for that! It's called running away!" Jijimon growled at them, continuing to chase after them in a hilarious display. Or what would've been if it wasn't painful to watch. That didn't stop her from smiling with amusement. She even noted Renamon pressing a finger to her lips, signaling to be quiet. Despite that, it was obvious the boys were starting to slow down from getting tired. Once Rika had gotten her fill of laughter in, she finally walked up to the two boys and kicked them to the ground from behind. Seeing this was enough to get Jijimon to stop chasing them, "Hmph. The girl has more spunk than you two. Maybe I was wrong. The human female is stronger."

"Hey! We're plenty strong!" Kazu protested, earning himself another kick from behind by Rika. Jijimon smirked, "Whatever you say kid. So what are a bunch of humans doing in the Digital World? You ain't the digidestined are ya? Here to save us from another world ending threat?"

"We're actually looking for a friend of ours. A small little digimon called Calumon and the digimon who kidnapped him, a monkey name Makuramon," Renamon explained to the two elderly digimon, moving to help the two hapless boys up. Both Babamon and Jijimon exchanged looks before the Babamon answered, "We haven't heard of either of those digimon before. Who are they?"

Kenta offered an explanation, "Makuramon is something called a Deva. A bunch of them have been coming to attack us in our world. He's the one who kidnapped our friend, and now we're here. As for Calumon, he's-"

"A small guy who's probably going to get himself killed," Rika interrupted, stopping Kenta from explaining what exactly they were looking for. She shot him a warning look and he understood right away that he'd almost made a serious mistake. Renamon added, "We came here with a much larger group when we were separated, hence how we came to your home. After they've rested, we will he leaving to go find the...oh, oh no."

Renamon didn't often panic and it made her uneasy to hear her partner worry , "What is it?"

"Andromon was with us," she answered calmly. Now it was Rika's turn to panic. That was right. Andromon was with them. How could she have forgotten all about him? He was probably their only chance of getting back to the others! And assuming he didn't get destroyed when they were hit by that light, that must've meant he fell into the ravine and got carried away. She swallowed a lump forming in her throat. She tried to assure herself he was fine, but he was a giant robot that had fallen in water. There was no way he was okay! If he was even still alive.

"Why are you in an apron?"

She forgot all her concerns at the sound of Kazu's voice and leered at him, only to see he was blushing, "I mean...it's kinda cute."

She gave him one more kick for good measure and returned to the kitchen to finish helping Babamon. From behind her, she could hear Kazu whining, "Why does she only hit me?"

"Because you keep opening your mouth," Renamon explained.

* * *

After they'd made lunch and had a chance to eat, Kazu let out a burp, "Oh wow, that was really good."

"Of course! She's a great cook! She hasn't killed me yet, anyway. And not for a lack of trying," Jijimon laughed, fending off Babamon's attempts to bat at him. Renamon had kept to sipping at some juice and eating handfuls of bread, "Why are you treating us with this kindness? It is unusual."

"We've been around long enough to know there's enough fighting and violence in the world. What's wrong with putting some kindness into it every once in a while?" Jijimon explained. Babamon clicked her tongue angrily, "What he means is he's a dirty coward afraid to pick a fight with stronger digimon."

"I'll fight you, you beautiful piece of data!" Jijimon growled. Babamon crosses her arms, "Please. You're so old, I'm surprised you can even get that stick of yours up!"

"Not for you, I can't," Jijimon hissed. Rika covered her ears to try and block out any more double entendres, but Kazu and Kenta started cheering them on. So much for putting a little kindness back into the Digital World. Renamon set her juice down, "If you two are so keen on being friendly, why do you keep fighting? Us and each other?"

"Well what else are we supposed to do in a sandstorm?" Babamon shrugged, "We're going to be stuck here for a while so best get comfortable."

"Sandstorm?" Kenta repeated, getting up and making his way to the door, "What sandstorm? Sure it was windy but what would make you think there was a sandstorm?"

Without thinking, he undid the latch on the door and watched it swing open by itself from a powerful gust of wind. Sand poured in with it and everyone broke out into a panic, "Way to go, dingus!"

"MY LIVING ROOM!"

"Sorry! Sorry!"

"Close the door, dammit!"

Rika forced herself up and pushed her way towards the door where Kenta was helplessly trying to shut it again. Kazu and Renamon were just behind her and they were able to push it closed together, holding it shut while Kenta fumbled with the lock, "I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!"

"Now we gotta clean up all this sand," Babamon complained, snapping her fingers so that her broom came to life on its own. It swept up the sand into a dust tray on the side of the room, that Jijimon picked up to empty so that it could get more sand in. Again, Kenta clasped his hands together, "I'm really sorry! I didn't know!"

"Meh, it happens," Jijimon shrugged, "But until that's done, you kids are stuck here."

"Which is why we fight!" Babamon picked up a ladle and swung it at Kenta. The boy helped he was struck, "I'm sorry! Please!"

* * *

They stayed with Babamon and Jijimon for at least a whole day before the winds died down enough for them to venture out into the sand storms. Thankfully, the two digimon were more than happy to provide them with some bread and instant soup packets for their trip before they left. Thankfully, the ravine was literally right at their backyard so they didn't have to go far to find where they'd started. Much like where they first landed, all they could find was miles of sandy desert in every direction waiting for them. It was as if the Digital World was nothing but one giant desert, unlike everything they'd seen in the shows or the movies. The ravine they fell into continued off into the distance and disappeared into the horizon. Kenta moaned, "Oh man, there's no telling where Andromon is now. How are we supposed to find him?"

"Not just that, how do we get back to finding the others? We don't even know where we are!" Kazu complained, "And we lost half of our supplies when we crashed here."

Rika pointed down the stream, "We follow the river until we find him. Then we look for Takato and the others."

Kenta looked down at the river below and whined, "But who knows how far he could've gone. The current is going pretty fast. It could take days or weeks to catch up."

"Then we'd better start walking," Rika declared, taking her first steps towards the horizon, "And if you don't want to be left behind, you'd better start walking."

Renamon followed after her at a brisk pace, "Come along you two. And stay close. Without digimon partners, you two are easy prey for whatever is out here that could want to eat and/or kill you."

The boys yelped at that and hurried after them. They walked for what felt like hours under the blistering heat of the sun, stopping every so often to rest and drink some water. It was about sunset before the river led them to something other than more desert sand. And that was a rock formation that vaguely resembled satellite dishes and skyscrapers.

With it getting late, they opted to rest for the night under the stars with the rock formations as cover in case another sandstorm started up. They made a quick dinner and tried to relax. Despite being the desert, it was surprisingly cold for the Digital World and all three kids found themselves shivering through the night. As she lay there, she contemplated what her parents were doing right now and recalled that she needed to message them. She reached back into her bag for the D-Terminal and examined it in her hand. Thankfully it worked which was a good sign. There was still no reply from her parents though which was depressing. She sighed and thought to update the, typing out her message quietly: ' _Resting for the night. We got separated in sand storm. Kazu and Kenta are with me and Renamon. Going to try and find the others in the morning_ '.

She pressed send and waited but got no reply. Maybe they were t getting the messages? Or maybe goggle head was right and time was all messed up again? Maybe the messages would reach them in days? Or maybe her mom was getting the messages in rapid succession and don't have time to answer. She set the D-Terminal back in her bag and tried to settle in. Before long, Kazu was complaining, "We're in the desert! Why does it feel like we're in the back of a freezer?"

"We all watched the show, Kazu. This kind of thing is supposed to be normal in the Digital World!" Kenta answered knowledgeably. This only annoyed Kazu more, "Okay, genius. If you're so smart, how about you figure out how to warm it back up again?"

"I would if my glasses hadn't fogged up from the cold," Kenta explained, adjusting his glasses for them to see. Unfortunately, it was dark and hard to actually see his glasses. This emboldened Kazu, "I can't see in the dark, genius."

Their constant bickering was getting on Rika's nerves, but she was too tired to actually tell them to the stop. At least until she felt something cold touch her face and she snapped, "Whichever one of you creeps touched me better own up to it now or I'll knock you both senseless."

"We're all the way over here and we can't see in the dark. How would we have touched you?" Kazu asked. That was all rendered moot when she felt something else cold touch her. And another. Kenta's voice asked, "Does anyone else feel that?"

"It's snowing," Renamon remarked. Kazu groaned, "Because of course it is. We're in the Digital World. Why wouldn't it snow in the middle of a desert!"

"Maybe that's why it got so cold all of a sudden," Kenta suggested, shuffling around in the dark until he was beside Rika. Rika wanted to smack him away but was unable to ignore how much warmer it was with him beside her. Especially now that it was snowing. It didn't last long though as more snow continued to fall on her and she quickly stood up to start moving her body. Renamon must've sensed her motion and asked, "Where are you going Rika?"

"I'm trying to keep moving to keep warm," she answered, "It's freezing."

It was definitely a bad idea to be walking around when she couldn't see so she started walking in circles just so that she wouldn't get too far from them. As she spun around, she started to get a dizzying motion sickness and had to stop - falling flat on the snow-sand mix so she could rest. But the motion sickness didn't subside, or the feeling of moving in circles. She looked up from her walk to ask, "What gives?"

"Does anyone else feel like we're spinning?" Kenta asked. Rika nodded, looking up at the stars and noticing they were spinning. Or rather she was spinning. On the ground. She sat up and tried to get her bearings in the dark, "It feels like we're on something moving!"

"I think it's a wheel!" Kazu said. No sooner did he say that but they were propelled upwards into the sky. Kenta yelped out, "What kind of wheel flies?"

"I don't think it's a wheel! It's a propellor!" Renamon shouted out as they continued skyward into a patch of clouds that wasn't there before. Just as they were sure they were going to go flying off, the spinning stopped and they were thrown onto a fluffy cold landing. Rika sat up quickly, trying to warm herself back up to see that they'd gone from miles of desert to miles of snow banks surrounded by floating gears and clocks. And one in particular was stuck making an exceptionally loud ticking noise.

"Where are we?" she asked, trying to find something that looked like the rock formations. It was nowhere in sight. How far had the spinning wheel thing thrown them? Kazu and Kenta's heads poked out of the snow, like plants bursting forth in spring. Kenta face palmed and moaned, "Did anyone get the number of that frisbee?"

"I'm going to be sick," Kazu added, before throwing up beside Kenta. Kenta tried to move his head away, "Ew! EW! Get away from me!"

"Come on, you two," Renamon strolled up to them casually and pulled them out of the snow, "This isn't the time to be lying about. We do have work to do."

She set them down and rejoined Rika, covering her ears and pressing them down, "What on earth is that horrible ticking noise!?"

"It's coming from that clock!" Kenta pointed out one clock in particular - a grandfather clock with a knife embedded between the minute hand and the hour hand so that it was stuck at 11:59. Every time the second hand tried to pass on to 12, the clock made a loud tick as if to protest the knife's presence. Annoyed, Rika marched straight for the knife and pulled it out, "What kinda idiot would do that?"

As soon as the knife was free, the clock quieted down and the clock reached midnight. She breathed a sigh of relief now that the noise was over and her headache was subsiding. She couldn't enjoy it for long though as two new voices chimed behind her in a panic. Two new digimon in a frenzy and panic. Going off memory, she recognized the floating gear with a face as Hagurumon and the one riding a giant clock as Clockmon.

Hagurumon yelped, "Oh no! We're in trouble! He's going to wake up!"

"Wake up? More like sleep now that the noise is gone," Rika corrected, "That was giving me a headache."

"But the headache is what kept us safe!" Clockmon countered, "Now he will wake up and bring a hundred years of death and destruction upon us! He'll change all the clocks, reprogram our VCRs, change the language settings on our computers, and steal everyone's left shoe!"

Rika had just about enough nonsense for one day, "Okay, I'm going to start ignoring you guys now. Let me know when you're ready to start making sense."

"But you don't understand!" Hagurumon panicked, "He's going to kill us all!"

"Who is?" Kazu asked curiously enough, signaling a low rumble to start in the distance. The snowy land began to rip itself apart and split open for a massive orange dragon with mechanical claws and wings to emerge from the earth. Clockmon pointed at the digimon, "He is! Megadramon! Destroyer of lands, breaker of our things, and bully of us!"

The two digimon turned to flee, which was just as well for Rika because it meant she wouldn't have to listen to their insanity any longer. She produced her digivice and nodded to her partner, both feeling the thrill of a real battle in the first time since they came to this world. If this guy was the threat to the Digital World, then this would be a very short trip. She raised up her digivice and swiped the first few cards she thought she would need, "Digimodify! Speed Boost Activate! Power Boost Activate! Angewomon's Bow Activate!"

Renamon took off in a flash, dashing towards Megadramon and loosing a few arrows from her bow to get his attention, "Hey! Big boy! Over here!"

The arrows hit their mark and wounded the digimon, making him turn his head. He let out a roar that sent a blast of cold wind their way before firing an array of missiles from his claws, "Dark Side Attack!"

Renamon leapt and weaved through the missiles, leaping onto one and using them as platforms to propel herself up to Megadramon, taking a clean shot at close range that hit him in the eye, "Surprise!"

Megadramon howled and took a swing at Renamon, throwing the digimon out of the air and straight into the snow beside her. Rika gasped and ran to her partner's side, calling her name in panic, "Renamon!"

"He got a lucky shot in," Renamon grunted, pushing herself back up, "But he's wounded and blind in one eye. One more good shot should do it."

"Are you sure?" Rika asked, helping her partner back up onto her feet, "You can barely stand."

Renamon steadied herself and knocked another arrow into the bow, "Yes I am fine. I just-"

"Desolation Claw!"

A beam of energy whipped through the air and struck Megadramon in the chest, knocking the flailing dragon back to the ground. Something small and fast then leapt onto him - what appeared to be a mix of a dog and a dragon with four red wings wrapped entirely in metal armor. The brutality with which this beast started beating on Megadramon made Rika turn her head in terror. Every punch made a sickening crunch, followed by a wet splash as the once powerful dragon was slowly reduced to a bloody pulp on the ground. The ferocious dragon only stopped when a beam of light whipped out from behind them and yanked the tiny monster back, "Cyberdramon! Stand down! I said stop! STOP!"

Rika followed the voice to see a spiky haired boy dressed in a mishmash of rags and metal armor topped neatly by a red scarf bellowing commands at the digimon. In his hand was a digivice just like theirs, but black and pulsing with light, "Cyberdramon! Sit! I said! SIT!"

With that last command, the boy slammed his digivice on the ground and brought Cyberdramon onto his knees. Once the digimon was restrained, he took a deep breath and asked them, "Sorry about that. Cyberdramon gets a little over excited. He can't help himself when he sees a fight. Anyway, what's going on here?"

Rika did a double take to make sure she wasn't imagining things. As many times as she looked, there was no mistaking it - it was Ryo. The boy who went missing. Her mind raced with questions as it tried to understand this. Had he been here the whole time? What had he been doing? Who was Cyberdramon? What the hell was he wearing?

Before she could try to ask, Hagurumon and Clockmon chose this specific time to come back from wherever they'd run to, "It's him! The Digimon Tamer has come to save us!"

The Digimon Tamer? That dumb name Takato had insisted they don't call him? Why was Ryo getting called that? He wasn't actually the Digimon Tamer, was he? Ryo grunted as they continued to cheer him, "Don't call me that. I hate that guy."

"But how could you hate yourself? You're the hero of the Digital World!" Clockmon cheered, "Where's WarGreymon!?"

"Okay, I'm ignoring you. What happened?" he asked Hagurumon. The floating gear spun gleefully and gestured at the clock, "They unbroke the clock that kept Megadramon in perpetual slumber! Now he awakens to destroy our world. And more importantly, my rock collection!"

"That's a lot of words just to say fixed an alarm clock," Ryo said, making his way to the clock and punching its face as hard as he could. The clock chimed for a moment before making its loud ticking noise again, prompting Hagurumon and Clockmon to cheer even louder, "Hurrah! The Digimon Tamer saved us!"

"Please stop," Ryo moaned quietly before properly taking note of the others. He took one glance at the digivice in Rika's hand and pointed, "Wait! That digivice! Are you a human like me? Are you a rescue party!?"

"Rescue party?" Rika repeated, confused and a little annoyed that he didn't even seem to recognize her. Kazu jumped between them and pointed at Ryo with his mouth so wide open it looked ready to fall off his face, "You! You're Ryo Akiyama! The Ryo Akiyama! The Digimon Card tournament champion!"

"Yeah, that's me," Ryo nodded, brushing past their recognition of his name to once again ask, "So are you the rescue party or did you get sucked here by Tamer too? Because if it's the first, how do we get out of here? And if it's the second, point me at him so I can kill him."

"Tamer? Oh you mean Takato!" Kazu answered, "He's been falling himself The Digimon Tamer for a while now. Personally, I think he took a few too many hits to the head. Anyway, forget about that. What's the Digimon King doing here? I bet you're kicking butt and taking names!"

"Actually I've been waiting for a rescue or something close to it. And it sounds like you guys aren't it. Thanks for getting my hopes up," Ryo frowned turning to go until he stopped and looked back at Rika, "I hate to be weird, but you look really familiar. Do we know each other?"

He'd forgotten her! What the hell? She should've known better than to think anything of this guy. She was about to tell him off when Kazu wrapped an arm around him, "That's Rika! She's the Digimon Queen, second only to you in the card game! You recognize her, right? You must've kicked her butt a lot in the tournament!"

The look on his face was absolutely priceless. If Kenta's camera worked, she would've taken a photo of him as he pointed at her in disbelief, "Rika? But...you're so young!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rika was annoyed now. Ryo threw up his hands defensively, "Wait, I mean...the Rika I knew should be in her thirties by now! I haven't seen her in twenty years! How...I mean...you haven't aged a day."

"Twenty years? Ryo! You've been gone since Christmas. It's only been a couple of months!" Rika corrected him, watching the look of surprise on his face twist between what must have been a torrent of emotions for him. There was also a look of longing in his eyes, like he wanted something but was unable to get it. It unnerved her and made her take a step back, "What? Take a picture! It'll last longer."

"Sorry, it's just...been such a long time for me," Ryo offered sheepishly, "I wasn't sure I'd ever see any one from our world ever again. What are you even doing here?"

"We're on a rescue mission," Kenta answered excitedly, "One of our friends got kidnapped and we're trying to find him! But there was a beam of light and we got separated from the rest of our group. So now we're just trying to find each other again."

"Well then you're in luck," Ryo gave them a thumbs up and pointed at himself, "I've picked up a thing or two since I've been stuck here for the last twenty years. There's a place nearby where we can go find your friends. It's called the Hallowed Bastion - some kinda old castle with sensors all over the Digital World. Let's go!"

Today had just taken a really strange turn and Rika was hating every minute of it. On the other hand, they'd found the last person she expected to run into. The last person she expected to find. And maybe he'd be able to help them. Worse case scenario was they'd get stuck here forever. She could think of worse company to be with.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Our team has met a new member, Ryo! But will they find their way back to the others? Will they find Andromon? What are the others up to at this moment? And how much longer can Rika put up with the madness before she snaps? Find out all this and more in three weeks due on September 13th at 5 PM CDT! Let me know what you guys think in the reviews! And don't forget to follow the story to keep up with updates and favorite the story to show support! That's all for now, let's look at previews for the next chapter!

"So how does this work? Is it immediate or - _CONTROL ACHIEVED! NOW WE RIDE! FIND STRONGER! KILL ALL ELSE!_ Yeah, I don't think so. Also, why do you sound like Rika? _IMPOSSIBLE! CONTROL HAS BEEN OVERRIDDEN! SURRENDER TO MY WILL! I AM THE BEAST!_ With all that shouting, I don't doubt it. _YOU WILL RESPECT MY WILL!_ Don't tell me how to live my life. It's my body and it's my choice!"

It was weird. Like hearing Takato talk to himself but one voice was screaming at the top of his lungs and the other was just Takato.

"Tamer, what's happening?" Leomon shouted at him. Takato answered, "The demon motorcycle is trying to take over my brain, I think. It's not very good at it. _I HEARD THAT!_ That's because I said it as loud as I could. _YOU WILL BREAK BEFORE ME BOY!_ Boy? I'm older than you, I think! Also you look really familiar, have we seen each other before? _HOW DO YOU RESIST! BREAK! BREAK! BREAK!_ Not with that attitude, I won't. Maybe you ought to try asking nicely? It's not going to hurt. _AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!_ "


	25. Nightmare Motorcycle

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 25: Nightmare Motorcycle**

Henry ran up and down the sand where their friends has been a moment before, "Crap! Where'd they go? We have to find them!"

He was about to chase after the beam of light when Leomon grabbed a hold of his shoulder, "No dice! Do you have any idea what'll happen if you just jump in that? There's no guarantee that you'll go where they did. You could end up anywhere! And what good will you do them then?"

"We can't just leave them!" Henry argued back, amazed that the lion was barely breaking a sweat as he tried to get free. In fact, the lion lifted him up into the air casually, dangling in front of his face, "Don't worry. They have Renamon and Andromon with them. I can't think of anyone better to have at your side. Those two can take care of them. What's important now is that we keep a level head."

"Moumantai, Henry!" Terriermon patted his partner. Juri looked to Takato, who was still staring off into space silently and tapped on his shoulder to snap him out of it. He didn't react. It took Guilmon nuzzling him with his snout to finally snap him out of it, "Huh? Oh, hi boy."

"Are you out of your funk, now?" Terriermon asked gesturing at the beam of light as it moved along the desert sand, "Because we've already run into a serious problem and I'm pretty sure you didn't even notice."

"Sorry, what's going on?" Takato looked between them in confusion, finally noticing half of their group were not present, "Where'd everyone go?"

Terriermon chuckled at being proven right while Leomon groaned in frustration. He really hadn't noticed their friends getting sucked up into the pillar of light! Juri pointed him towards the ever growing distant beam of light and explained, "They got sucked up into this beam of light that went past us!"

Takato raised an eyebrow in surprise, tracing the beam of light skyward, "Beam of light? From what? It's not connected to anything! It just…sort of goes up forever."

He traced its path with its finger up the sky until he was pointing straight up, "Well, crap that is a problem. They could be anywhere. They could even be in a completely different world!"

"Yes, we know! How do we find them?" Henry demanded, "Because we're not going to find them just sitting here doing nothing! Who knows what trouble they'll get in by themselves? Especially Kazu and Kenta. And you know Rika's probably going to try and pick a fight."

"She hasn't been that bad lately," Guilmon offered in her defense.

"I think they'll be fine. They have Andromon and Renamon too. Really, the only one I'm worried about is Kazu," Takato answered sheepishly, "But if we're going to find them, we can always go to the Hallowed Bastion. I can track them from there. Come on!"

He turned on his heels and started walking off in a random direction, stopping to check his digivice, and then continued on in a slightly different direction. Guilmon raced after his partner while the rest of them swapped nervous glances. There were so many questions now and Henry asked first, "What's the Hallowed Bastion?"

"Home City of the Ancients," Leomon answered quietly, lifting Juri up on to his shoulder, "We should keep up. We don't want to fall too far behind."

"How far is it?" Terriermon asked, climbing up onto Henry's head to sit without asking. He was heavy on Henry's head, until the digimon spread out his ears to offer some make shift shade. Takato pointed ahead, "That way! Maybe a few days? Actually, we're going to stop by an old house if that's okay. I want to get something first."

"I see time has done nothing to modify your concern for others," Leomon commented quietly, something Takato chose to ignore. Juri was less sure of that statement. As far as she could think, Takato had always been trying to help others. He'd even been trying to stop fighting between other digimon! She poked Leomon's head and asked, "What does that mean, Leomon?"

The lion grimaced, "The last time I saw The Tamer, he was less concerned with the well being of others and more concerned with ensuring they fulfilled their destiny. Whatever that would be. Even if it meant forcing them to watch the people they cared for die."

None of that sounded like the Takato she knew. Then again, she realized that this wasn't even the Takato she knew. This Takato was just someone wearing his face and running around with his name. The real Takato was lost…possibly in this world. Thinking about all of this made her heart feel heavy.

And why did Leomon feel the need to bring up destiny? Did he know something she didn't? She looked back at Leomon, "How do you know all this?"

"I don't know all the details because I wasn't there, but supposedly he allowed someone's mother to die to ensure that certain events happened the way they were supposed to," Leomon answered. He looked her way and offered a small smile, "It's alarming but I've learned it's better not to worry about it. It'll make you paranoid. Make you do things that you normally wouldn't. I think another one of the digidestined said it best: destiny will work itself out either way, so why worry about it?"

That hardly made her feel better. She felt a lump forming in her throat and tried to swallow it, but couldn't it. Maybe it was just too hot and dry to do it? Yeah, that had to be it.

* * *

Impmon followed Makuramon and the hostage Calumon through the endless desert and complained, "Hey! How much farther is this place yous was talkin' 'bout?"

"Not much farther, dear Impmon," the monkey answered playfully, poking the cage he was using to hold Calumon hostage, "Isn't that right my dear little pet? Oh, what fun we'll have when I return you to Lord Zhuqiaomon!"

"I don't think I'll like your idea of fun," Calumon's voice quivered in fear. Makuramon answered by shaking the cage as violently as he could, "Oh, come now Catalyst. I'm sure you'll enjoy all the little games we'll play when we finally meet our Lord!"

"I hope you ain't expecting me to bow coz' I don' got no lords," Impmon folded his arms, growing irate the longer he followed this monkey. It was the smart decision at the time - the monkey had him in a death grip and he'd be dead if he didn't agree. But now he was wondering if death would've been the smarter choice. It would've saved him from having to listen to this monkey chatter on and on about crap he didn't care about.

A small bright light appeared in the distance, one he hadn't seen before. Impmon's eyes narrowed and he looked at Makuramon with a raised eyebrow, "What's that?"

"That is my destination. I do have a gift to present. But don't worry, Caturamon will take care of you," Makuramon cackled. Impmon didn't like the sound of that laughter and turned to see a snarling dog just inches from his face. He leapt back, preparing two balls of fire in his hands, "How'd you do that?"

"Why is that the first thing everyone asks me?" the dog asked, noticing the cage in Makuramon's hand, "Is that it?"

Makuramon held out the cage with a big old grin on his face, "Indeed it is! The catalyst given digimon form by the Sovereigns themselves! And do help this poor little fellow. His services were useful in the acquisition of our goal."

"Alright," the dog nodded, getting so close to Impmon that his breath made him gag, "Listen well, little one. I am Caturamon, servant of the Sovereigns and guardian of this area. Tell me what you seek and I will help you acquire it."

Impmon rolled his eyes, skeptical of the wish granting and keeping the fireballs close, "Hey, I ain't da wishin' type."

Caturamon grunted his disapproval, snarling at the imp before blowing out the flames in his hands. Impmon panicked and reignited another set of flames quickly only to have them blown out again. Caturamon then added, "I can do this all day idiot. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Anything you want, you can have at our lord's grace. But this offer will only come once and won't be given again. What do you want, child?"

Impmon continued staring skeptically before finally answering, "I want the same thing I've always wanted: to survive. If that means bein' strong or smart, I don't care. I want to not need anybody' or anythin'!"

Caturamon stared at the imp in surprise, and that annoyed him, "WHAT?"

"Who hurt you?" was all he asked. Impmon was taken aback by that question because of how close it hit to home, "Who says anyone hurt me?"

"No 'mon is an island," Caturamon explained, "To want no one or anything...who hurt you?"

"NOBODY!" Impmon snapped angrily. Caturamon closed his eyes, taking a long and deep breath as if to indicate his frustration. Then he sighed, "Very well. I will grant your heart's desire: but what that means is power. Power unlike any other. And only one can grant that power. The sovereign himself! Lord Zhuqiaomon."

"I told you, I ain't got no lords!" Impmon protested, suddenly finding Caturamon taller than he was a second ago. That couldn't be right. He was eye level a moment ago. Unfortunately, it took Impmon just a second too long to realize he was sinking into the ground like he were stuck in quicksand. He tried to step out of it, but the struggle only made him sink faster, "HEY! WHAT GIVES!? What kinda trick is this? Get met outta here!"

"Do not resist. All will be well," Caturamon said, failing to be any more reassuring than that stupid monkey. Impmon growled, trying to grab at Caturamon in vain to keep himself above the ever rising sand. But it was too late now. His arms were now submerged in the dirt, leaving only his flailing hands reaching desperately for something. As it made its way up to his face, he tilted his head up to keep it above the rising earth. With his last breath, he cursed the damned dog and the monkey. He cursed himself for being so careless. Darkness took him, followed by a vision of large bird wreathed in flame. Then a flash of fire swallowed him.

* * *

They walked for the rest of the day, stopping only at the end of the day to eat bread from Takato's bag and sleep out in the open. As the night grew colder, they tried to get a fire going but had nothing but the bread wrappers to burn - something that only lasted a couple of seconds before the flames burned out. So they spent that night mostly going cold - something Guilmon vocally complained about despite being in a large desert.

Juri slept by Leomon's side, since his fur and his large size made him nice and warm. Sleeping beside him reminded her of when she was younger and her dad had been more open with her. It reminded her of all the times he'd let her fall asleep on his lap while he was working or watching TV, before carrying her to bed and tucking her in for the night. It was probably her best night's sleep in a long time. When she awoke the next morning, she found that the others had also moved in to be beside Leomon at some point in the night. Maybe he was just too warm to resist in this frigid cold desert. And she was well aware how insane that sounded when she thought it out loud.

They headed out again after a quick breakfast of some more bread and hurried on in the direction Takato led them. It was another day of endless trekking through arid heat under a baking sun until they saw what looked like several small mounds in the desert. From afar, it looked like a mass of hills. But the closer they got, the more it began to resemble igloos of mud with their doors sealed shut with scrap metal.

"What is this place?" Juri asked, looking around curiously at the many huts. The place was almost like a ghost town, except ghost towns had signs people used to live there. But there were clothes hanging off clothes lines and smoke coming from the chimneys. So someone had to be living here now, right? Takato took one look around, "A village by the looks of it. Let's see if anyone's home! HELLO! Anybody here? Were friendly! I promise! Don't mind the lion! Or the dinosaur. They're the nicest. The bunny dog thing is more dangerous than they are."

"Hey!" Terriermon grumbled, sticking out his tongue at Takato and turning his head in disapproval. Takato ignored him and knocked on one of the doors. When no answer came from inside the abode, he banged harder, "Anybody? Somebody? Hello! I swear we're friendly!"

"Takato!" Henry pulled him back, "What are you doing?"

"Knocking," he answered quietly, "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"No, I mean why are you banging on the door? We don't know who lives in there!" Henry corrected him anxiously, "For all we know, it's some crazy dangerous digimon who'll eat our face."

Despite his concerns, Takato shrugged it off and patted his head, "Don't be ridiculous Henry. Only Kuwagamon do that and they tend to live under the sand, not in huts this small."

"Okay, so what if it's something else? Something that wouldn't mind eating us!?" Henry pointed out. He and Takato stared at each other for the longest time before he knocked on the door again, throwing all of Henry's concerns out the window with it. Henry groaned in frustration, just as the metallic door slid open for a little brown bear made of dirt to peek out, "Hello?"

Takato put on his cheeriest face, "Hi! We've lost some friends and are looking for them. Then again, we're also a little lost ourselves. Do you have any water or some food?"

"You're not with that demon, are you? The crazy demon motorcycle," the little brown bear asked. Takato looked back at the rest of them with a raised eyebrow, skeptically remarking, "Demon motorcycle? Don't be ridiculous! We're not with a demon motorcycle! I've seen a crazy puppet, statues comes to life, and even world ending monsters from outside reality and not once have I ever seen a demon motorcycle!"

"What kinda digimon is that?" Juri pointed at the brown bear, "I've never seen one before like this."

"Chuchidarumon. They're a subtype or Frigimon only made with mud instead of ice and snow," Takato answered knowledgeably, "They're a really docile digimon too. Normally friendly. This motorcycle must have you guys really spooked if you're locking all your doors!"

"Get away from the door! If the motorcycle sees you, it'll come back!" a voice rang out from inside the hut. The door slammed shut after that, followed by the unmistakable sound of the click of several locks. Terriermon frowned, "Well that was rude."

"What do you suppose they mean by demon motorcycle?" Leomon asked. Henry shrugged and pointed out, "More importantly, why do they keep talking about the motorcycle and not the rider? I'd think the rider is more dangerous."

"Does anyone else hear that?" Takato asked, holding up a finger for complete silence. Juri closed her and cupped a hand to her ears, hearing only the distant sound of the wind blowing past. She opened her eyes and answered, "I don't hear anything."

Terriermon's ears perked up and he added, "I do! It's like a...a rumble."

"Something's coming," Guilmon added, lifting up his nose to sniff the air. Juri closed her eyes again and tried to listen carefully. Nothing. No wait, there was something. A soft hum or rumble. Like an engine. A motorcycle engine! And it was getting closer and louder. Turning her head towards the noise, she saw the unmistakable shape of an unridden motorcycle roaring their way with no one riding upon it. And the headlight of this motorcycle flashed a grim blood red as it raced towards them, like a singular eye pierced into their very being to judge them. She gasped and Leomon groaned, "You've gotta be kidding me! They were serious!? A demon motorcycle!?"

"Oh, that is new," Takato said almost too gleefully, "A self driving motorcycle!"

"Uh...it's coming right at us," Henry pointed out.

"We should run," Terriermon added, pulling on Henry so that he would turn and start moving. Everyone did just that, hurrying towards one of the huts and climbing on top of the mounds to avoid the rampaging vehicle. At first, it seemed they would be safe but that did nothing to slow the machine down or hinder it as it rammed at full speed into the side of the hut. It shook violently, Juri grasping on to her partner for dear life while he dug his sword into its side to anchor them. The others were hardly fairing any better, trying to keep from getting knocked off and hanging on only by digging their hands straight into the mud. The hut shook one more time and motorcycle emerged from the other side, throwing a Chuchidarumon forward onto the ground and running it over. The digimon let out a single pained cry before disappearing into data. During that brief moment the motorcycle passed under them, Juri swore she saw what looked like a small metallic rabbit riding on its seat - so small that it was hardly noticeable. In fact, it was smaller than Calumon of all things. And it didn't look to have any arms or legs! How was it driving the motorcycle?

The motorcycle turned on its spot and revved its engine at them, producing a loud roar as it charged again. This time, it raised up its front wheel to transfer its momentum and raced up the side of the hut.

"JUMP!" Takato shouted, as they all leapt off the hut in time for the motorcycle to fly past them and land on the other side. Leomon kept Juri on his shoulder, "Hang tight, Juri. This motorcycle really is a demon!"

"No, there's someone riding it!" Juri pointed out, "A little rabbit thing!"

"A rabbit?" Takato repeated, eyeing the motorcycle carefully. It had already regained its footing and was readying itself again, rushing their way. Takato ran in front of them and shouted, "HEY! LOOK AT ME! COME AND GET ME!"

"TAMER! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Leomon roared out, rushing forward to stop the boy. The motorcycle had already turned though and was rushing right at him. Takato continued onward though, flailing his arms above his head, "That's right! Over here! Come and get me!"

"What is he doing!?" Juri gasped, closing her eyes to avoid seeing what she thought she was going to see. There was a loud thump and soft crash. Her heart stopped. The only person who had any idea how to get them back had just thrown himself in front of a motorcycle! They were doomed! Royally doomed. She peeked her eyes open a little to see Takato on the sand, cradling something in his arms as he looked over his shoulder at the motorcycle continuing into the distance. Now with Guilmon riding upon it. As he stood up, Juri could make out the metallic rabbit in Takato's arms and it weakly apologized, "I'm sorry! I saw everything. As soon as I was on the seat, I lost all control. It was like the motorcycle was making me do those things!"

"It's alright, MetalKoromon," Takato assured the little bunny and stroking its head. He handed the digimon over to Leomon and announced, "Do you mind holding this? I need to go save Guilmon!"

" _HERE I COME TAKATOMON_!" Guilmon roared at the top of his lungs, turning the motorcycle to face him. There was something off now about the red dinosaur, something different about him. Almost like he was possessed. MetalKoromon urged Takato, "Don't do it! If that motorcycle gets you, it's all over! All it wants is to find stronger riders! As soon as it does, it kicks off whoever is on it and kills everything else. Please! Don't do it!"

"I'm not letting anything happen to Guilmon," Takato said, adjusting his goggles over his head to cover his eyes. He looked back at Leomon and declared, "Be ready to knock me off as soon as you can!"

"What are you going to do?" Henry asked. Takato shrugged, "Get on the motorcycle, see what happens, maybe take it for a ride afterwards."

He ran forward again and Henry groaned, "What's with the throwing himself in danger act? Is he crazy or stupid?"

"We all know it's both," Terriermon remarked.

The motorcycle revved again, and Guilmon shouted, "YOU'RE ALL MINE NOW!"

"Then come get me!" Takato shouted back, standing in front of the motorcycle with his arms wide open. The motorcycle roared its engine and charged in again, going faster than it had before. Still, Takato didn't move. Just as she was sure he'd get run over this time, the motorcycle's brakes shrieked as it slid to a stop in front of him. It idled there with Guilmon staring Takato down, " _YOU KNOW WHAT I WANT!_ "

"Yeah, I'm right in front of you. No need to shout. Or be rude," Takato rubbed his ear. He stepped onto the side of the motorcycle and took hold of the handle bars. Immediately, Guilmon fell off in a daze so that Takato could get on the seat. He was hilariously small on its large frame, scooting as far forward as he could to grab both the handle bars and the foot rests, "So how does this work? Is it immediate or - _CONTROL ACHIEVED! NOW WE RIDE! FIND STRONGER! KILL ALL ELSE!_ Yeah, I don't think so. Also, why do you sound like Rika? _IMPOSSIBLE! CONTROL HAS BEEN OVERRIDDEN! SURRENDER TO MY WILL! I AM THE BEAST!_ With all that shouting, I don't doubt it. _YOU WILL RESPECT MY WILL!_ Don't tell me how to live my life. It's my body and it's my choice!"

It was weird. One second, Takato was screaming at the top of his voice and the next he spoke with the calm he'd shown before. And he was arguing with himself using the two voices.

"Tamer, what's happening?" Leomon shouted at him. Takato answered, "The demon motorcycle is trying to take over my brain, I think. It's not very good at it. _I HEARD THAT!_ That's because I said it as loud as I could. _YOU WILL BREAK BEFORE ME BOY!_ Boy? I'm older than you, I think. Also you look really familiar, have we seen each other before? _HOW DO YOU RESIST!? BREAK! BREAK! BREAK!_ Not with that attitude, I won't. Maybe you ought to try asking nicely? It's not going to hurt. _AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH! I WILL RUN YOU DOWN!"_

"Is it safe to get close?" Henry asked aloud. Takato shot him a dirty look and roared, " _TRY IF YOU CAN MEAT BAG! TOUCH MY TREADS! I DARE YOU!_ It's probably safe. I still have control over the finer motor functions so it's not like it can make me rev the handle bar. _WHY WON'T YOU SUBMIT?_ You didn't say please. _SO YOU WILL IF I DO?_ I didn't say that. _I HATE YOU SO MUCH! GET OFF!_ But I just got comfortable."

Henry stared at him quietly before asking the obvious question, "Okay, so what happens now that you're on there? If we knock you off, does the motorcycle just topple over or does it start moving on its own?"

" _WHY DON'T YOU COME CLOSER AND FIND OUT MEAT SACK! LET ME RUN YOU OVER! KILL! KILL! KILL!_ Don't be rude. Those are my friends and you should treat them with respect. _THEY CAN RESPECT MY TREADS! KILL THEM ALL! YES! KILL THEM ALL!_ Okay, that's totally uncalled for. And I don't know, Henry. It's not going anywhere so I think I'm in control of it but who knows what'll happen," Takato replied with a shrug. Leomon readied his sword and marched over to Takato, quietly answering, "There's only one way to find out. Hah!"

He swung it as hard as he could so that the flat end of the blade struck Takato in the chest. The boy grunted, thrown off the bike and landing beside it with a frown, "Wow! What a trip! I'd do it again if I didn't have to fight a killer bike for control of my own body. Now where did you come from? I mean...you weren't here last time I was in the Digital World. Another world? Another version of the Digital World? What's your story?"

"Not knowing things seems to be a theme for you, doesn't it?" Terriermon observed. All eyes were on the motorcycle now as it sat there unmoving. Its engine was still running despite having no rider, but it had lost all ability to propel itself forward without a rider to steer or keep it balanced. Then it toppled over into the sand. Guilmon sniffed the motorcycle and Takato dusted himself off, "Well, that's that. We should not do that again."

"We? That was all you, Takato," Henry slapped his back, then looked back down at the motorcycle. They were all thinking the same thing, even though they weren't saying it. They should probably destroy it. Leomon raised his sword above his head, "Well, let's finish this!"

"Wait!" Takato interrupted, "If we destroy this, someone's going to need to absorb its data. The last thing we need is for its data to get loose into the Digital world! Who knows what kind of damage that could do if all that...killing intent ended up scattered. It might drive us all crazy. Or, worse, it could just mean the motorcycle reformats somewhere else. And then we'll be right back where we started."

"Are you sure about any of that?" Leomon asked, poking the motorcycle with the pointy end of his sword. The motorcycle revved its engine in protest but that just made Leomon jab it harder. Everyone else leapt back in surprise, covering their ears as it roared even louder. Terriermon commented, "I guess it's still kicking."

"But it doesn't look like it can do anything without a rider so who cares?" Henry pointed out. The motorcycle continued to rev its engine in protest, trying in vain to do something other than just lay on the ground. The noise started to draw attention though as the mud bear digimon started to emerge from their huts en masse to see the motorcycle for themselves. One of them looked at it, "Is it…is it beaten?"

"Looks like it," Leomon said, continuing to poke it with his sword, "As long as no one else climbs on it, it'll just lay there and gather dust."

That announcement drove the motorcycle into a rage as it started roaring its engine as loud as it could, making its rear wheel spin so fast that it began to spin in place on the ground. The Chuchidarumon retreated away in terror until Leomon jabbed his sword between the spikes of the rear wheel to stop it from spinning. The sword made a sickening grinding noise as the wheel became stuck on the sword and the engine finally died. Takato pointed at the motorcycle, "Are you done throwing a tantrum? Because it's not going to help you get out of your situation. And it's not going to make us help you get up. So why not stop with this and-"

As Takato continued to lecture the motorcycle, another soft rumble caught their attention. Juri clung on to Leomon, "Earthquake!"

"Not an earthquake! A sink hole!" Takato said, moving back from the motorcycle as the ground opened up just ahead of them. As they retreated away, the hole widened large enough to swallow the motorcycle into it. About a meter down into the hole was a layer of boiling hot magma that consumed the motorcycle. The motorcycle revved its in engine, creating a horrible grinding noise as it sank into the molten crag and burst into flame. One of the Chuchidarumon threw a rock at it as it sank in, "Good riddance!"

"That stupid thing has been terrorizing us for weeks! We could only leave our homes for a few moments at a time before it came to attack us!" another added, "Thank goodness it's all over."

Juri shared that sentiment - watching Takato go half insane like that was terrifying. What would possess the motorcycle to even behave like that? Why was it so driven to destroy everything? What had the Digital World ever done to it to make it like that?

The earth began to rumble again, and the surface of the lava began to ripple outwards until the motorcycle emerged. It flew out of the pit that had opened in the ground, driven by a new rider - a tall man wearing all leather under black armor. It wore a violet mask over its face, concealing everything but three glaring eyes full of blood thirsty glee. The rider cheered, "OH YEAH! THIS IS POWER, RIGHT HERE! REAL POWER! OH, I CAN FEEL IT! ALL OF IT! LISTEN UP! I AM BEELZEMON, RIDER OF THE BEHEMOTH, KING OF THE DIGITAL WORLD, DESTROYER OF WORLDS, AND WRECKER OF YOUR SHIT!"

"Well now I've seen everything and I hate it," Takato threw up his hands in frustration, "I mean what did I miss? The Digital World is a lot more surreal than I remember."

"He smells familiar," Guilmon sniffed in the Beelzemon's direction, "He smells like…Impmon."

Juri squinted her eyes at Beelzemon, unsure there was a resemblance between the digimon. She had only seen Impmon once, and this was definitely not him. But Guilmon seemed to recognize him. Takato blinked and pointed at the digimon in disbelief, "That's Impmon? He's a lot taller than I remember."

"Wait, Impmon is the one who kidnapped Calumon, right?" Henry pointed out. Beelzemon grunted, "Hmph."

"Where is he!?" Terriermon shouted, "Don't you know what you did by giving him over to the Devas!"

"So what? That ain't my problem," Beelzemon growled, revving the engine of the motorcycle. Takato snapped his fingers, "I got it! You're infected by the motorcycle! It's in your head and making you exceptionally violent! We just got to fix that and knock you off."

"Knock me off? What? Are you mockin' me!?" Beelzemon roared. He cracked his knuckles and reached for a strap on the side of the motorcycle, producing a double barreled shotgun which he cocked by spinning it in his hand. He pointed it straight at them, "I'll show you! TAKE THIS!"

"DUCK!" Takato shouted, diving onto Guilmon and pushing him to the ground. Henry followed suit, holding Terriermon close as he dove for the dirt. Leomon followed suit, removing her from his shoulder and hugging her tight as he leapt for safety behind one of the buildings. All of the Chuchidarumon ran away in a panic, running into their homes for safety while Beelzemon roared, "THAT'S RIGHT YOU LITTLE SHITS! RUN! RUN AWAY! AH-HA-HA-HA!"

"So did he always swear this much or is that just the motorcycle?" Terriermon asked, watching Beelzemon rev the engine again as he turned the motorcycle towards them. He grinned ear to ear and revved his engine one more time before turning away from them. He raised his middle finger at them and rode off into the distance, taking one last chance to shout, "I DIDN'T NEED HUMANS' THEN AND I DIDN'T NEED 'EM NOW! SCREW YOU DWEEBS!"

"Well, at least we know Impmon's safe," Takato said dryly, taking a moment to dust the sand off himself before helping his partner up. Guilmon frowned, "He seemed really mad. I hope he's not mad at us."

"I doubt it," Takato frowned, "We got two choices: go after him to find Calumon or keep going to the Bastion to find the others."

Juri didn't like the fact that they had two equally difficult choices to make in front of them and frowned at Henry's answer, "That shouldn't even be a question. We find Rika and the others, then we go after Beelzemon. Besides, without Calumon, none of our digimon can digivolve. We'll need as many of us together as we can to stand a chance. Rika's our best fighter and Juri's still new to all this. No offense, Juri."

"None taken," Juri waved it off, putting on her biggest smile while feeling more useless than she had a in a while. Leomon was probably the strongest digimon on their team right now, and she hadn't done anything with him. Rather, he'd taken initiative on everything. She felt like a horrible partner right now.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** They lost one set of friends, and promptly lost another they were looking for. What will Takato's group do now? Are Rika and the others alright? What about their families in the Human World? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out next Friday September 20th at 5 PM CDT. Let me know what you guys think in the reviews section! Don't forget to favorite the story to show support and to follow to keep up with all the latest updates! That's all I have for now, so let's look at previews for the next chapter!

 _She removed her backpack and thrust it into Kazu's hands, "Besides, Renamon and I have practically carried you guys since we got here anyway."_

 _Kazu groaned and dropped the bag, "What's your deal with me? It's like you personally enjoy crapping on me!"_

 _Rika put a hand on her hips and raised her eyebrows grumpily, and the boy quickly picked the bag back up in a panic._

" _Well, you do make it easy for her," Kenta answered. Ryo stopped in his tracks to look at Rika, staring unblinkingly at her. She wished he would stop doing that, "What?"_


	26. The Hallowed Bastion

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 26: The Hallowed Bastion**

Rika walked along behind the rest of the group, leering at Ryo as he was bombarded with questions from both Kazu and Kenta. Partially because she was annoyed that he'd forgotten her, and partially because she couldn't believe this was where he'd been after all this time. More than that, she hadn't forgotten how Hagurumon and Clockmon addressed him. They called him The Digimon Tamer. She thought back to everything that had happened - everything from the books, everything from Ryo's disappearance. He insisted he wasn't, but the digimon they'd encountered identified him as such. And he seemed to fit the description from both Renamon and the book - a great warrior, someone who subverted expectations, could think quickly and creatively, and seemed to be more in control of situations than he was willing to let on.

She hated to think it, but it seemed that Ryo really was the one called The Digimon Tamer. And his partner - Cyberdramon. A digimon so strong, he was able to stay at the Ultimate level without slowing down or losing speed. Something that both Kazu and Kenta brought up with their constant questioning.

"So where did you meet Cyberdramon, anyway?" Kenta gestured towards the hulking dragon a few behind him, "He's not a digimon I've ever heard of. And he's kinda scary - sorta weird for a guy like you to have for a partner."

"That's because he's not your average digimon. He's one of a kind - a weaker form of a much more dangerous digimon called Milleniummon. He was tough, but I worked together with some…well…help to beat him. I've been stuck trying to rein him in ever since," Ryo answered with a bitter tone, quietly grumbling about having to explain, "Cyberdramon is okay when he's calm. It's when his bloodlust comes out that he becomes unbearable. All he wants to do is kill and destroy everything he sees. It's all I can do to just keep him in check, and even then I can't contain him from destroying stuff around him."

"But a digimon that strong took on Megadramon on his own! That's got to be worth it!" Kazu pointed out ecstatically, "Man, what I wouldn't give to have a partner like that."

"You really don't," Ryo frowned, gesturing ahead at his partner, "He's probably the strongest digimon at his level, but he's got the anger of ten digimon at his level. Besides, don't you guys have partners?"

"Nah, we're just here to help out the others," Kazu answered gleefully. Ryo raised an eyebrow, "Like carrying their stuff? Or are you acting like bait? Just asking because I'm not sure how you guys are helping."

Kazu was not prepared for that response, nor was he prepared for Rika to happily point out, "Yeah, and some help you've been. Renamon and I have done most of the work since we got separated from Juri and the others. But I like the idea of them carrying out stuff!"

She removed her backpack and thrust it into Kazu's hands, "Besides, Renamon and I have practically carried you guys since we got here anyway."

Kazu groaned and dropped the bag, "What's your deal with me? It's like you personally enjoy crapping on me!"

Rika put a hand on her hips and raised her eyebrows grumpily, and the boy quickly picked the bag back up in a panic.

"Well, you do make it easy for her," Kenta answered. Ryo stopped in his tracks to look at Rika, staring unblinkingly at her. She wished he would stop doing that, "What?"

"Sorry," Ryo averted his gaze and ran a hand through his hair nervously, ending at the back of his neck which he scratched nervously, "I just can't believe it's only been a few months. It's been years for me. I know. I counted the days. And…it's hard to find the right words…if I'm having a hard time talking to you, it's because I don't know what to say. I don't know what I'm going to say to my parents."

She understood that better than she wanted to admit - with her dad having been absent for a long time and her relationship with her mom not…in the best of places before he came back. Compared to him, her time gap hardly seemed to be worth mentioning. So she flicked his forehead, "I wouldn't think about it. Otherwise, you'll just make it weird. And stop staring at me, creep. It's freaking me out. How much further do we have to go? I'm sick of walking through desert. I bet the digidestined didn't have to walk through this much heat."

She was careful to leave out the part about her parents being digidestined, and shot a death glare at both Kenta and Kazu when they tried to open their mouths. Ryo pointed across miles of desert to a cloud of fog in the distance, "Over there. Once we get into the fog, we're probably another day's walk away. Then we can use the computers there to find your friends."

"What's up with all that fog? I thought this was a desert!" Kazu groaned, already cramping under the weight of the second backpack he had to carry.

Kenta patted his shoulder, "It snowed on us a couple of nights ago. Why should the fog be any weirder?"

"I don't know, man. This place is just messing with my head," Kazu grunted, struggling to keep up with them.

Kenta added, "Kazu, basic math messes with your head! I mean, you don't even do your own homework!"

"We've all been avoiding our homework! Right, Rika?" Kazu looked to her for support only to be shot down, "What are you talking about? I've been doing it while you guys are sleeping!"

It was a bold lie but she knew it would annoy him.

"What!? Dude, let me copy off you!" Kazu shouted, failing to see the obvious flaw with that. Kenta had to pull him back and explain, "Kazu, she doesn't go to our school."

"I miss school. And homework. Never thought I'd say that," Ryo laughed from ahead of them, not noticing that they were now silent. Kazu was the first to ask, "You're not serious right? I mean, who misses homework?"

"Well, when you spend years fighting for your life in another world, it's amazing what you start to miss," Ryo explained with a half smile, "I mean, if you told me I would miss doing my chores one day, I'd think you were crazy too. But it's not just my chores or my homework. I miss my parents, my family, my bed, home cooked meals, TV, internet, computers, school, my friends. Everything. You know what I mean, right Rika?"

Rika looked away when he looked at her, "I don't know what you're talking about."

She did, but she wasn't going to admit to anything in front of Kazu or Kenta. Renamon looked like she was about to add something but stopped instead to laugh. Which was good because she could've said any number of embarrassing things right then. Rika didn't want to think about Kenta and Kazu knowing anything about her that they didn't need to know.

* * *

They continued on straight into the fog, which was so thick that they could barely see more than an arm's length ahead of them. On Ryo's insistence, they walked along with one arm on each other's shoulders so that they wouldn't get separated. In this dense fog, it was a surprise anyone could navigate. But Ryo would stop on occasion to look at his digivice before pressing on. The Digital World became deathly silent, marked only by the sound of their feet shuffling along the sand. Even the wind seemed to die in this thick fog.

Eventually, they heard noises echoing around them. Faint whispers that were indiscernible and what sounded like sobs mixed with moaning. But all of that was nothing compared to the overwhelming sense of dread she got. Every time a noise passed, Ryo would stop in his tracks and change his course slightly before pressing on. Eventually, it became too much for Rika, "Hey Ryo! What is this fog? It's giving me the creeps."

It took a long time to give his answer, "It's better not to think about it. The Digital World is a terrible place and not everything that dies comes back. And it doesn't get absorbed either. Sometimes, the data just…gets stuck."

"What? No way! We've seen digimon turn to data and this is way too thick to be that," Kazu said disbelievingly. Ryo was quiet a little while longer before adding, "If you want to sleep tonight, you won't think on it any more than you just did. But…this is why I don't like The Digimon Tamer and I wish digimon would stop calling me that name. Because this…was partially him."

Rika looked around at this fog, the weight of everything Ryo said now beginning to make sense in her head. This was the result of the war she'd read about in the book and…if it was true…this was the result of the Digimon Tamer. These were dead digimon. And goggle head…Takato…caused it. And if the book was also right, the murmurs she was hearing was also the half deleted remains of some digimon in unbelievable agony begging for a death that wasn't going to come. Because The Digimon Tamer refused to give them the mercy. She shivered.

They proceeded further into the fog until they saw the distant shape of a barren old castle atop a craggy rock face appear in the distance. It ascended just high enough to escape the fog of digimon data and, looking out on the plains from above. The sheer size gave context for just how expansive the fog was, and they could finally see how far the fog went. It reached out for miles in every direction, disappearing into the horizon. Whatever this war was, it seemed the books really gave no context for just how devastating the scale was. How many digimon must've died here…at this place…to make such a wide cloud of data. And the castle itself was hardly inviting. It was almost evil to look at, marked by the statues of Devidramon leering down at the courtyard below.

"Here we are! This is the Hallowed Bastion!" Ryo said with arms outstretched for them - as if he expected them to marvel at how outright terrifying this place was, "Stick close to me and try not to get lost. This place will mess with your head."

"Whoa sweet! Check out the Devidramon!" Kazu said excitedly, pointing out the chipped statues lining the courtyard. Ryo ushered them forward, "Don't get too close. They shoot lasers from their eyes. And Stick together guys! Come on!"

He led them past the entryway and further into the castle. It lived up to its evil exterior. Inside was dim and drab, illuminated only by dying candles and flickering lights. What little they could see revealed dusty hallways, thick cobwebs, and tattered decorations scattered everywhere. In spite of that Renamon craned her neck at every possible sight as she took it all in, "To think we'd ever stand in the home of the Guardians of Destiny themselves."

That marvel turned to surprise when they entered a nonsensically large room with what looked like a single walkway bridging an infinite void of twisting corridors and stairs. Just looking out on the empty space around them made Rika sick to her stomach and her head spin. At least at first. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw multiple staircases and walkways spiraling and twisting into the void. Occasionally, they would disappear and reappear without warning. Kenta gasped at the sight of it, excitedly asking, "Is this an Escher maze?"

"I don't know what that is but if you mean this mess, then sure!" Ryo said, "It took me forever to figure out my way around this place and I don't want have to figure out how to find any of you guys if we get separated. Just hang on and don't let go until we're on the other side. And...uh...sorry if this next part is weird. We're going to have to go over the edge. And then some other stuff."

"What?" was all Rika managed to get out before Ryo grabbed her arm, pulling her towards the guard rail and over the edge. She felt like she was falling, but only for a second before she felt herself standing upright. They were still on the bridge. But that couldn't be right. That shouldn't even have been possible. They walked right over the edge of the walkway. They should've been falling. Instead, they were still on the walkway. Behind her, she heard Kazu and Kenta groaning like they were sick. Kenta was the first to manage to speak, "Oh man, what the hell was that? I think my stomach's in my mouth."

"At least it's still in you. My stomach feels like it's back wherever we were," Kazu groaned. She was glad her stomach was stronger than theirs, but she couldn't help but feel sorry for them as she was left to wonder just what they were experiencing to feel like this. Ryo was quick to apologize, "Sorry guys. I know it sucks."

"Why aren't you messed up by this?" Kazu groaned.

"Because he's been here long enough and he's done this enough that it doesn't affect him as much," Renamon answered for him. Cyberdramon grunted his approval of her answer before growling impatiently. Ryo sighed, "Just try to power through. We've got a lot more of these to go."

"Oh man!" was all either of them managed to get out before they were dragged along by Ryo through more jumps and odd sidesteps that made the world around them shift and change even though it seemed like they were staying on the same walkway they had been before. At some point, it became too much for even Rika as her stomach started to turn with unease. It wasn't until they were suddenly on the other end of the walkway that Ryo finally stopped dragging them along and said, "Okay, we're on the other side. You guys rest up before we carry on. It should be safe now, as long as we don't go back."

"Please...tell us...we don't have to do that again," Rika groaned, before going to the edge of the walkway to puke uncontrollably. Kazu and Kenta joined her in puking over the edge, only to watch their puke disappear from existence and reappear on some stairs on the other end of the room. Kenta was the first to look up, "Why did we have to do that?"

"This room is a defense mechanism. It's made so that you can only go through it a certain way. If you don't follow the only path through, you could end up falling for eternity or worse," Ryo answered. Rika would've raised an eyebrow if she wasn't so busy puking her guts out, looking at him in disbelief, "What could be worse than what we just went through?"

Ryo opened his mouth to answer, before pausing and picking up a stone from the ground. He cast it over the edge and they watched it fall for some distance. It only fell for a few seconds before several beams of light shot out of the room at different angles and vaporized the rock. Then Ryo finally answered, "That's the bastion's defense mechanism. It was designed to keep this place safe from any invaders. Invaders would get trapped in this room trying to find their way to the other side, and anyone straying too far from the safe paths gets vaporized."

"Then how did you figure it out?" Kazu asked, looking up briefly before puking over the edge again. Kazu rubbed his back to help him get it out before answering, "I've been stuck here for years Kazu. Believe me, I've had nothing but time to figure it out. Mostly by trial and error. But I was here once before and that time, I had the Digimon Tamer to help guide me around. And believe me, I'm as eager to find him again as you guys are."

"I don't think you ever said, what's your deal with Takato anyway?" Kazu wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and slid down the back of his guard rail. Ryo massaged the back of his neck, "I guess I didn't say, did I? Well, we've got nothing but time now. The truth is he's the reason I'm stuck here. One day I was on my computer talking about digimon, and the next thing I know I'm getting pulled into the screen. Then I woke up here in the Digital World. Wandered around for a few days before I ran into this Kuwagamon that started chasing me. That was when I met The Digimon Tamer, Agumon, Ken, and Wormmon. He said he would help us get home until we got to this place and he found out why we were in this world. That digimon I told you about before, Milleniummon, tore a hole open in reality that broke the Digital World. He said he couldn't send either of us back until we fixed it. And we did. But that was before I got sucked into this weird...other world. It took forever to find my way back. I've been trapped here ever since trying to figure out a way back to our world."

"So why the anger for The Tamer?" Renamon asked seriously. Ryo's eyes narrowed, "Because he's the reason I'm in this mess. It took me a while to understand but that guy always knows more than he lets on. He always knows more than he lets on! He will keep things from you if it means fulfilling your destiny, even if it means trapping you in another world for years against your will. I've said it before and I'll say it again. If I meet him again, I'm decking him! Hell, I'll kill him."

"Dude, harsh," was all Kazu managed to say. That was the understatement of the century. The goggle head was the reason Ryo was gone for so long. She wanted to be mad, to be angry and hate him for it. But part of her was also sure that he had no memory of any of it. Then again, with how messed up his memory was, it'd be a miracle if he remembered anything. The guy could barely keep his own head straight. Odds were, Ryo would punch him across the face and he'd just stare in confusion. All that frustration did do one thing: it settled her stomach enough for her to stand up. She looked over at Ryo who seemed genuinely angry, a sight she'd never seen before on a normally calm guy. After a few moment and deep breaths, he calmed down enough to sigh and stare at Rika. Again with that creepy, off putting stare of his, "What?"

"Nothing," He shook his head. It took a bit longer for everyone to feel okay enough to move on and they proceeded further into the castle. Now, instead of that mind-twist of a labyrinth, they were in a normal labyrinth of endlessly twisting halls that seemed to continue on forever with no sign of stopping. Once again, Rika found herself in awe of how calmly Ryo was handling the absurdity of their situation - mostly because it reminded her of the fact that he'd been trapped here for what seemed like years to him.

At the end of their long walk, Ryo guided them into a large chamber marked by computer screens on every inch of wall with several keyboards and terminals set up around it. Of the screens, only one appeared to be in any working order though and it displayed what appeared to be a map. Rika looked around the room, certain her dad would have a heart attack to see so many computers treated with such disregard. If anything, he'd probably disappear again to start fixing these. She smiled at the thought before asking, "What is this?"

Ryo blew a layer of dust off the nearest keyboard and started typing away on it. Strange characters appeared on the screen, a language she'd only seen on the ring around her digivice's screen. It further solidified the fact that whoever made these digivices was from this world, "This is The Network. At least, that's what it was the first time I was here. It was the Tamer's pet project at the time - a reality wide system to monitor the different worlds and everything going on in them. If I had to guess, someone didn't like the idea and shut it down. I don't blame them. Thankfully, they weren't thorough and I was able to savage this one. It should still tell us where your friends are."

"How can you read any of that?" Kenta asked, adjusting glasses to better view the screen and the strange characters that were displayed on it. Kazu pointed at some of the letters, "What's with the fake sci-fi language?"

"That fake sci-fi language is the language of the Ancients. And don't ask me what any of it means. I can't read it. The only reason I know what I'm doing is because I've had time to figure it out. Twenty years of being trapped here is enough time to figure out some basics. It's not like I had anything better to do besides keeping Cyberdramon in check," Ryo answered, smacking their hands away from the screen, "And don't touch that. The screen is touch sensitive. You might do something."

All it took was a few more button presses to blow up the map of the Digital World. On that map were several dots - two of them were together, three were in another part of the Digital World, and there was a sixth and seventh by themselves. Ryo gestured at the dots, "These signals are digivices. Those two are us here in the Hallowed Bastion. I'm guessing the others are your friends?"

Rika pointed, "Those three are! Right there! That's gotta be Henry, Juri, and Takato."

"But what is the other two?" Renamon asked, pointing at the lone dots. Kazu jumped, "That's got to be Andromon! He drifted down the river by himself! I hope that guy is okay."

"If that's Andromon, then who's the seventh?" Kenta gestured at it. Ryo examined it more carefully and frowned, "Its at the bottom of a lake. If your friend Andromon got carried off by a river, that's probably where he ended up."

Rika crowned, "They can't both be Andromon. So which is it?"

"Hang on," Ryo produced a marker from his pocket and started copying the map onto his sleeve. Suddenly, the dingy state of his clothes made a lot more sense. They must've been the clothes he wore when he first arrived and they'd become worn from the years. He finished his scribbles and explained, "Okay. So this one is closer than the one under the lake. We can head there first. Then go to the other one."

"What about getting back to the others?" Rika asked. Ryo pointed at their three dots and traced their movement, "It looks like they're already going to the one under the lake anyway. We can meet them there. Now we should hurry up and go."

He put his marker away and sat up, "If we hurry, we can get to the second spot before we catch up with the others when they get to the lake. Sound good to you?"

"Does that mean more walking?" Kenta asked sheepishly. Rika rolled her eyes, "No one asked you to come."

* * *

Yamaki led the exceptionally large entourage into the Tokyo Metropolitan Building, which took longer than it should've because he had to stop security from checking every single one of them before letting them through. It also didn't help that neither the 'chosen children', the 'monster maker', and the parents of the assorted kids wouldn't stop leering at him from the back. Security must have thought he was bringing his own personal execution squad with him. Once he'd convinced the guards they were harmless, he took them upstairs to the office space set aside for them if they ever decided to cooperate. And he was sure they'd be surprised by what he already he had there waiting them.

He could hear their gasps of surprise as they made their way up the glass elevator and past the different levels of the organization. One laboratory level where they had been experimenting with the technology used to create the Juggernaut, another level where they had been containing the digimon that came through for study, several offices and barracks. Finally, the elevator came to a stop at a near empty office space complete with desks and computer terminals. On the far side of the office was a large screen being attended by the others - the ones Yamaki and his team had been able to track down. They ones they'd convinced to join them.

Naturally, Zhenyu Li recognized them all right away, "Are those who I think they are?"

"After the incident with the three digimon in downtown, it was hard to keep everything secret. You and Shibumi were the last hold outs," Yamaki explained to him, watching Zhenyu quickly meet with the rest of his old team. They were the 'Founders' or 'Monster Makers' as they preferred. The team that was responsible for the creation of the digimon. And as always, they referred to each other by their nicknames which worked for him because it would save them time on code names.

First was Babel, an African-American specializing in theoretical physics and who had a thing for wearing shades at all times. Then there was Daisy, a robotics specialist currently working at MIT to develop some kind of autonomous robot. Curly was an Indian woman working for Miscatina University in India, where she taught quantum theory. And finally, there was Dolphin, a red haired American teaching as a professor at Palo Alto University who developed an odd fascination with the occult. Once introductions were out of the way, Yamaki began to explain Project Hypnos to them, "We've been monitoring the situation since the Odaiba Incident as well as the incident at Christmas several years ago. There's a subtle pattern in our world's electromagnetic spectrum that sometimes presents itself as static if observed through a radio or a television. However, if you pass it through a machine able to read the pattern like a computer or radar, the end result is clear."

As they drew closer, it became easier to tell that the screen on the far end displayed a world map brimming with moving dots. But it wasn't their world. It was different. Miss Kamiya pointed at it, "So you've got a map that's been monitoring the Digital World from here? How?"

"A lot of our equipment was reverse engineered thanks to Mister Izumi here," Yamaki gestured at the wheel chair bound man wheeling his way to the computer, "His help, coupled with what we've learned about digimon over the last few years, means that we've been readying our defenses against them. At least, that was the plan. The explosion a few nights back was the result of a power surge in our main weapon: the Juggernaut Program."

It was hard to miss their glares - why wouldn't they be? They were just told that their government had been creating weapons and forced one of their friends to make it. Thankfully, he was spared the embarrassment of talking more when Izumi decided to explain for him. His voice was hoarse, as if he were ready to break down, "It's a worm hole. It forces open a gate between our world and the Digital World. Only the gate isn't stable. Weaker digimon forms…don't survive the trip back. It rips them apart."

Izumi's wife placed a hand on his shoulders and squeezed, "Whatever you did, you had your reasons. None of this is your fault, understand?"

"I…I'm sorry," was all he managed to get out, turning his head away from the rest of them, "But I want to make it right. I think if we put our heads together, we can figure out how to get the gate to the Digital World open. But this time, we use it to save our kids."

Zhenyu Li agreed, "There's a lot of work for us to do but we need to save our kids. It's hard to believe the Digital World started off as a simulation on a computer. This…all this is just ones and zeroes on a computer! It's a kid's game based on a college project! I haven't felt this excited in a while."

"To be fair, there's a lot of this that we don't understand," Izumi offered to the confused man, "And we've been going there since we've been kids."

"Yeah, even after all of our trips, we still don't know what exactly is going on there," Ichijouji's wife added. Yamaki sighed, adjusting his glasses to massage the bridge of his nose. If they were going to work together, there was going to be a lot of information he would have to declassify - a lot he would have to fill them in on, "Our top scientists have been studying this since we captured the first ones during the Odaiba Incident. The fog that interferes with electronics whenever digimon appear isn't just normal atmospheric moisture. It's energy from across the electromagnetic spectrum modifying free molecules in the air, bringing them together and coalescing them into proteins, carbohydrates, and fats to create a physical form for the digital creatures. However, their electromagnetic signature still allows them to interfere with electronic equipment: radios, telephone signals, internet access points, traffic lights…I'm sure you've all experienced this."

"Okay, and what does any of this have to do with finding my daughter and helping her?" Izumi's wife demanded angrily. The scientist named Dolphin spoke up, "With your expertise on the subject of the Digital World and our knowledge of its base code, we should be able to pinpoint their location in the Digital World and pull them out."

"Who are you again?" she asked, a little lost on his identity. Yamaki sighed, "We can introduce ourselves again later. Right now, we have six kids lost in another world and we're going to pull them out before things get any worse."

As he said that, Mimi's device beeped again. This time, she opened it to read, " _Met another boy in the Digital World. He can help us. We're going to stick with him for a while. We'll keep you updated._ Updated? Another boy? Who are they talking about?"

"You don't think there's another Tamer running around, do you?" Sora asked. The disgust and horror on their faces was impossible to miss. Yamaki had no idea what this Tamer had done to them in the past, but he had a few ideas from the few times he talked to the kid. And he was sure none of it was good. And that just made time more pressing. Time was moving faster in the other world compared to this one. They didn't have a second to lose, "I'll get some coffee going. We've got a lot of work ahead of us if we're going to pull those kids out."

"Right now, I'm giving all of you unlimited access to all the resources Hypnos has at its disposal," Yamaki added, gesturing to the many computers around them, "Whatever you need, you have a blank check."

* * *

Makuramon knelt down before his lord and master Zhuqiaomon to present the caged Calumon for him, "I apologize for the delay, m'lord. This little buggar was more trouble than he was worth. But he's here now for you to do with as you please! The Catalyst of the Ancients!"

He looked up slightly to see the large crimson bird staring down at him, expecting some reward for his service. Instead Zhuqiaomon kept his gaze fixed on Calumon, completely ignoring him, "Are you sure? It's…kinda pathetic."

Makuramon wasn't expecting that response but raised the cage up so that his lord could get a better look, "I am sure, m'lord. The humans went through great pains to make sure we didn't acquire him!"

"What great pains, exactly?" Zhuqiaomon asked.

"They left him in the care of a little girl at their home," Makuramon said, slowly realizing how absurd he must've sounded. He quickly added, "But worry not my lord! I know this is the Catalyst because I saw it for myself. Inside this weak, pathetic thing that can barely protect itself and - I am sounding insane."

Makuramon paused to clear his throat, "Anyway, the point is: this creature holds the light of digivolution inside of it! With its power, we can finally strengthen ourselves and prepare to battle the foe."

"It's just…so small. And it looks weak," Zhuqiaomon noted, looking at it more closely. The small digimon was cowering against the back of his cage fearfully now. Makuramon wanted to join the little digimon in shaking, but did his best to keep a brave face. His master may have been tough but he was fair. He would surely be willing to show mercy if there had been a mistake. Even if it had cost the lives of half the devas at this point. After a long and drawn out silence, Zhuqiaomon eventually asked, "Can it at least release the power within so we can be sure?"

"Of course," Makuramon bowed. He jabbed the digimon in the cage, shouting, "Let out your power, little one. Show it to our lord in all his splendor that we may bathe in your power!"

Calumon shook, "That doesn't sound very hygienic and I think I want to go home now."

Zhuqiaomon grunted his disapproval and Makuramon scrambled for words, "Worry not, my master! I can take care of this! Listen you! We didn't go through all this trouble just so you could hold out on us! Let out your power! NOW!"

He shook the cage more furiously, trying to get some kind of reaction out of the little creature who could only wail in terror. Lord Zhuqiaomon groaned and turned to him, "Are you sure you're okay, Makuramon? Because I doubt this creature is it!"

Makuramon became desperate, "I swear my lord! I saw it for myself! We just have to trigger it! LET OUT YOUR POWER!"

He shook the cage and slammed it against the ground, causing a trickle of light to start streaming around the cage. He breathed a sigh of relief and held it up for Zhuqiaomon to see, "All it needed was a little gentle persuasion, see? Now, let us bathe in its li…what are you doing?"

It took him a few seconds too long to notice, but Lord Zhuqiaomon noticed the lights weren't coming from the cage right away. In fact, it was dancing around the cage. And there was more than one. Calumon stopped panicking and began playfully speaking to the lights as they continued dancing around the cage. All at once, the lights came together to pull at the cage and yank it away from him. Makuramon tightened his grip, intent on keeping it close only to find himself being lifted into the air. Or rather, the cage was being lifted and he was just along for the ride. Calumon looked down at him and smiled, "Bye bye!"

"What?"

Before he got an answer, the cage jolted so hard that Makuramon's grip slipped and he fell back to the ground. Then the cage was carried off by the lights into the distance. Makuramon's eyes widened in horrible realization as he looked form the lights to Zhuqiaomon. He expected the full wrath of the sovereign upon him. Instead, he heard the mega level digimon remark, "Well, that's new. Is it supposed to do that?"

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Where is Calumon going? Will the digidestined and the monster makers be able to save the kids? Will the kids reunite with each other? Find out all this in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 on Friday, September 27th at 5 PM CDT. Let me know what you guys think in the reviews section! And hey, don't forget to favorite the story to show support and follow to stay current with all the updates! Now let's see some previews for next time:

"I think he's making fun of your fur," the Palmon said to Gabumon. The Biyomon sighed, "Guys! Focus! We're looking bad in front of the intruders!"

"Intruders?" Takato scoffed in disbelief, "THIS IS MY HOUSE!"

Palmon answered by shaking Takato in place. Juri gasped and tried pleading while Leomon drew his sword, "Put them down!"

The threat of violence put the digimon on their guard and they readied themselves to attack, "We don't listen to you! Who are you and how did you find this place?"

"I lived here!" Takato spat out. The digimon looked between each other and then at Takato, "What do you mean you lived here?"


	27. Lake House

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 27: Lake House**

Days passed as they continued their trek through miles of desert, impeded only by the occasional random digimon coming to attack them. At least, it should have been days. It felt more like weeks with endless the endless desert heat beating down on them. They stopped only when it was dark or when they could find shelter to rest. It was simply too dangerous to be wandering in the dark or rest out in the open. Soon, desert sand turned to grassy plains and verdant forests. The air cooled the further they went until they reached a large serene lake in the middle of the forest. It was a welcome sight after spending several days wandering the desert of the Digital World.

Everyone ran straight for the water to get a fresh drink, except for Guilmon who simply dove straight in. They washed their faces and cleaned themselves up short of taking a bath. Takato was the only who didn't get into the water, opting to instead walk the water's edge and occasionally dip his toe into the water, "It should be here somewhere."

"What are you doing?" Terriermon asked, looking up from the water long enough to notice, "If you didn't pack a towel or a swimsuit, you're gonna get yourself sick jumping into the water!"

"I'm trying to find the steps," Takato answered, still dipping his foot into the water every few feet, "Wet. Wet. Wet. Wet. Dry!"

As he said that, Takato's leg disappeared into the water up to his knee without making a splash. He pulled his leg out and dunked his head into the water, staying under far too long for anyone to still be alive. Terriermon tilted his head, "Did he just drown himself?"

"He doesn't smell dead!" Guilmon sniffed the air, then made his way over to his partner to sniff his side. Then he started poking Takato's side until his head emerged from the water as dry as it had gone in, "Good news! I found the front door! Bad news! The stairs are falling apart so we might trip on our way down. Best news! There should be some beds down there we can use to rest up. Not sure if the food is still good though."

"Stairs? Beds? What're you talking about?" Henry approached the edge of the lake and dipped his shoe in. He pulled it out, inspecting the dry footwear carefully before slowly lowering his foot deeper into the water, "There's a step here!"

"Yeah! See!" Takato demonstrated by casually walking into the water and disappearing completely beneath the waves. This took the cake for all the strange things Takato had done until his hand broke the surface to wave at them. Takato climbed back out, "Are you guys coming or not? It's perfectly safe. Mostly safe. The stairs are still crumbling."

Henry paused and looked back at the rest of them quizzically. They were all looking back anxiously, none of them wanting to be the one to go down first. Realizing they weren't going to go anywhere like this, Juri took a deep breath and followed Takato's path into the water. Like he said, it was dry and she felt her shoe step on something solid. Emboldened by this, she took several more steps that slowly descended into the water until she was completely submerged. And she found a staircase descending into the depths of the lake that was surprisingly well lit. The water stopped at the sides of the stairs, held back by an invisible barrier that stopped any of the fish swimming in the water from passing through. The sight was as beautiful as it was impossible, "What is this?"

Takato put his hands to his hips and smiled cheerfully, "Ancient technology! It's...um...how did this work again? Um...oh yeah! It's called hard light! Think like a force field except you can use it to make whatever you want."

"Aren't you worried that it'll break and we'll all drown?" Juri asked nervously, tapping the side of the water and feeling something hard there. It was like a glass window. But glass could break and they couldn't breathe under water. Takato shrugged, "Not really. Why? Are you planning on breaking it?"

"No. I'm not a great swimmer, so I wouldn't even try," she answered sheepishly. Takato smiled, "Then that makes you all the braver for coming in. I see Henry and the others are still hanging out up there. That makes you braver than them."

Juri looked back up the stairs to see Henry still only knee deep into the water before forcing himself down in, followed by Terriermon, Guilmon and Leomon. Leomon looked around, jaw hanging open in awe of the sight, "Ancient technology again. It never ceases to amaze me."

Guilmon sniffed the air, "This smells familiar."

"Does it?" Takato tilted his head, jogging back up the stairs to examine his partner. He turned Guilmon's head with his hands and pried his mouth open, "It shouldn't be. You shouldn't even know what this is. This is your first time here...right?"

Guilmon pulled his head out of Takato's hands and sniffed the air, "I don't know. It smells...yummy."

Terriermon laughed, "I think he's smelling the bread in your bag. So what are we doing here? And where are we going?"

"I'm just coming here to get something," Takato said again, turning back down to the stairs and leading the way, "Don't worry, we won't be staying long. Once I find it, we can get going. Or we can stay the night, your guys' call."

"Yeah, you still haven't told us what you're getting or where these stairs go," Leomon pointed out skeptically. He groaned, "I don't mean to be cynical Tamer, but it would be nice if we knew what was going on. What does this have to do with finding the others?"

Takato stopped in his tracks, shoulders slumping quietly and he looked back up at them. There was a slight hesitation in his voice as if he was wrestling on whether or not to actually say anything, "You're right. I'm going to get...something personal. Something that might help me sort out my memories. After that, I promise we're going to go the Hallowed Bastion and find the others."

"It's amazing how little of the question that answered," Henry stated dryly, scratching the back of his head before continuing to follow Takato. They descended downward in uncomfortable silence broken only by the occasional fish slamming into the invisible barrier, until they reached the very bottom and found a small house surrounded by an old wall. It was made the traditional Japanese style, and within they found an overgrown garden marked by a stone path leading up to a sliding front door. Trees and bushes looked like they'd been hastily trimmed with the debris carelessly piled in the corners of the garden. It even had a small stream allowing fish to pass through the garden and back out into the lake. Henry glanced around at the entire structure before gasping, "Wait a second, I remember this! This is the lake house from the show!"

"That's right!" Takato said, proceeding past the entry way, "Took the digidestined here years ago when they were your age. It's been a while since I was here. It belonged to someone else and I've been taking care of it for them for a while. Or I was...then I got busy. It's odd though. It's not nearly as overgrown as I thought it would be."

"That's good, isn't it? It means you don't have to do much work," Terriermon answered. Takato nodded and proceeded towards the front door and slid it open, kicking off his shoes and calling in, "I'm back! Home sweet home! It's been ages."

"POISON IVY!"

Dozens of vines shot out of the front door and wrapped themselves around Takato, Juri, and Terriermon - raising them into the air and holding them up there. A large group of small digimon charged out to surround them - a Gabumon, a Biyomon, a Veemon, a Hawkmon, a Gatomon, an Armadillomon, a Wormmon, a Patamon, a Tentomon, and a Gomamon surrounded them from all sides. The last to appear was a Palmon standing at the front door, using her vines to hold the others up. Henry retreated behind Leomon quickly, recognizing who these digimon were but unsure he'd be able to convince them they were not dangerous. Despite the danger, Takato remarked, "Haven't been dangling upside down since the puppet in the Bastion. Are you guys going to put us down?"

"This is some hello," Terriermon added, his ears flopping around as he dangled precariously. As for Guilmon, he didn't seemed alarmed at all by the danger and started sniffing the Gabumon, "You smell funny. Do I know you?"

"I think he's making fun of your fur," the Palmon said to Gabumon. The Biyomon sighed, "Guys! Focus! We're looking bad in front of the intruders!"

"Intruders?" Takato scoffed in disbelief, "THIS IS MY HOUSE!"

Palmon answered by shaking Takato in place. Juri gasped and tried pleading while Leomon drew his sword, "Put them down!"

The threat of violence put the digimon on their guard and they readied themselves to attack, "We don't listen to you! Who are you and how did you find this place?"

"I lived here!" Takato spat out. The digimon looked between each other and then at Takato, "What do you mean you lived here?"

"Oh come on, guys!" Takato whined, "You remember me, right?"

The digimon all looked between each other cautiously, before Gomamon spoke, "I don't like the cut of his jib. I don't trust him."

"Me either. But he says he lived here," Tentomon pointed out, "That's gotta be The Tamer!"

Takato pointed at Tentomon, "Yes, I am! I am the Digimon Tamer! That's me!"

"Yeah! That's the Digimon Tamer!" Leomon added quickly. The digimon paused again, looking from Leomon to each other. The Hawkmon frowned, "Do you think we can trust him?"

"If he is The Tamer, would you trust him?" the Palmon asked, continuing to keep them raised up in the air. Takato shouted again, "I swear! It's me! Put me down! This is ridiculous!"

Watching the scene unfold was perhaps the most surreal thing any of them had ever seen. Realizing things weren't going to get any better if things kept up like this, Henry stepped out with his arms raised, "We're not going to harm anyone! We're just here to get something and then we'll go. Well, Takato or Tamer is here to get something. Then we'll go. So can you please our friends down?"

The digimon continued to stare up at them cautiously. Why wouldn't they be? They were probably freaked out to see random humans and digimon showing up at a place no one should've known was there. Especially in the Digital World. Eventually, the Veemon spoke up, "To be honesht, I don't think they're going to hurt ush. If they were, they'd have done it before we got the jump on them. Beshidesh! They've got humansh with them! You guysh remember your partnersh, right? Maybe they're digideshtined?"

At that, Palmon dropped everyone but Takato. Juri and Terriermon landed with a thump, "Ow!"

"It's about time!" the little digimon complained, massaging his head. Now it was only Takato dangling up in the air and he complained, "So I'm just going to hang up here? Because the blood is starting to go to my head and I'm getting dizzy."

"Not until you get this!" Palmon answered, shaking the boy in the air and spinning him around. Juri gasped, "What are you doing? What did he ever do to you guys?"

"Long story. I'm just venting," Palmon replied, continuing to shake the upside down boy against his will as he jostled up and down. After giving him a good throttling, Palmon finally put him down head first. The boy sat up, massaging his head and grumbling at his mistreatment. The Gatomon approached, "So what brings you back after all this time?"

"Good to see you too," was all he said, still rubbing his head and looking up at the cat digimon, "This is some hello. I haven't seen you guys in forever and you jostle me upside down. What are you doing here, anyway?"

He was answered with Gatomon pressing her claws against him, "How about you tell us where you've been!?"

"What's going on out here?" a voice called out from the entry way. All eyes were on the door now as a young man with blonde hair stepped out of the entry way wearing a loose fitting tracksuit and a baseball cap. The man looked between each of them with an unimpressed frown and folded his arms, "Gatomon, I don't think Kari would appreciate you holding your claws at someone."

"I was just making a point," Gatomon said with a friendly smile, retracting her claws a little and stepping away so that the man could offer Takato a hand up. Takato glanced at his hand nervously, before getting pulled up and being dusted off, "Sorry about that. They're anxious because they haven't seen their partners in a while. Speaking of which, I see you've got a strange partner yourself. What kind of digimon is that?"

Takato gestured to everyone as he introduced them, "He's Guilmon, I'm his partner Takato. These are Henry, Terriermon, Juri and Leomon."

Before the man could even respond, the Gomamon interrupted, "Takato? A second ago, you were telling us you were Tamer!"

"Tamer?" the man repeated quietly, a small smile drawing itself on his face, "Of course. How else would you have found this place? I should've known it was you from the beginning. Come on in. We have a lot to talk about."

"Wait. Sorry, hang on a minute," Takato called out, massaging his temple and circling this strange man, "Sorry, I'm a little lost. Actually, I'm very lost. Who are you and what are you doing in my house?"

The man laughed and flicked Takato across the forehead, "What? Don't you recognize me? It's Takeru. Y'know - TK?"

Takeru - the missing digidestined. The guy who'd vanished. Henry did his best to keep his mouth from hanging open. But Takato continued to rub his chin in clear confusion, "Wait! The hat kid? Oh! It's good to see you! What are you doing here? The others said you were missing! What are you even doing here? We have to tell the others!"

"Tell the others? Who are you to tell us that! YOU'VE BEEN MISSING! FOR YEARS! WAY LONGER THAN WE'VE BEEN HERE!" Patamon blurted out in frustration, until Takeru pulled his partner back. He massaged his partner's back until he calmed down, "It's alright, Patamon. I'll get some drinks. Let's take a moment to relax."

Takeru disappeared back into the house, followed by all the other digimon who came storming out. They'd calmed down but there was still an air of frustration coming from them. Henry swapped a nervous glance with Juri, and both looked down at Terriermon, "Do you think it's safe to go in?"

"Not if that's how they greet us," Terriermon answered, still massaging his sore head. Leomon sheathed his sword and asked, "Tamer, are those really the partners of the digidestined? The famed heroes of this world?"

"Yes, they are," he answered dryly, scratching the back of his head as he nervously added, "And I don't think they're at all too happy to see me. Big surprise there. Man, I know my memory's fuzzy but I hope I wasn't that bad in my last life."

"You've been kinda wimpy. Maybe that's why they're mad?" Terriermon suggested, ears spreading out wide again in a playful manner. Takato sighed, "Yeah, I hope so."

Takato's frown returned and Henry was left to ponder what exactly happened in the real version of events that left him sulking. The more time passed, the more clear it was that whatever actually happened was not what the books or the tv show described. He was pulled from his thoughts by Leomon loudly proclaiming, "You mean...they...but...that can't be right. I'm an idiot! Of course that's who they were! It's been so long that I forgot what they were. I can't be this foolish. Do you think they're mad at me? The heroes of the Digital World and I almost started a fight with them."

"I wouldn't worry about it. They're more mad at me than you," Takato said, "But let me go in first in case they feel like attacking again."

They proceeded inside, just behind Takato and Guilmon into the quaint little home that was far more modern in design that it would have suggested. There was a television, radios, several computer monitors and keyboards strewn across the floor of every room. The kitchen had its share of modern appliances which Takeru used to busily warm up some water for tea. Takato made his way through every room quietly, looking around with wide eyed astonishment, "I see you redecorated my house. Hmm. I don't like it."

Takeru chuckled from the kitchen, "Well, you weren't here so we just made ourselves at home."

While they continued to wait, they joined the digimon at a long dining table where they all sat quietly - awkwardly trying to avoid eye contact with the potentially angry digimon for their intrusion. Or rather, while they tried to keep their mouths shut as everyone of them stared at Takato in silence.

The only thing making it more awkward was a middle aged man with a beard and mullet resting with his head down on the table, wrapped beneath a blanket as he snored loudly. Eventually, the long and awkward silence was broken by Gabumon asking, "Okay, so I need to know because it's bugging me: why are you a kid again, Tamer? Shouldn't you be older than TK?"

"Would you believe that I have no control over my reformatting?" Takato answered sheepishly, "I just…kinda woke up like this. Believe me, this wasn't my first choice in appearance. Legs were too short, arms aren't long enough, and my hair is just…awful. I haven't cut my hair since I got this new face and it still won't get longer. I liked it better when it was all up. Now it just kinda…droops. Even when I push my goggles up."

"I still don't believe that's actually him," Gomamon grumbled. Takato looked at Henry and Juri quietly, unsure of what to say next. Neither of them were sure what he expected them to do - it wasn't like they were able to say anything. Henry could think of a few things he wanted to say to the digimon but he was sure they'd bite his head off if he tried. Thankfully, he didn't have to as Guilmon made his way around the table sniffing everyone, "You all smell familiar too! You smell like…disappointment. And you smell…like angst. And you smell…like you don't want to be seen without your fur!"

"Yeah well, you smell like-" Gabumon sniffed Guilmon back, "Bad breath. Although you do smell…familiar?"

* * *

Juri was getting anxious just sitting here, "Um, I don't want to be rude, Takato. But can you get what we're here for so we can go. I'm kinda uncomfortable here."

"Believe me, I am too," Takato assured as he sat up from the table, "It might take me a bit longer since things have been moved around. I'll definitely get started."

"What are you looking for anyway?" Gatomon asked, watching the boy as he made his way from room to room, examining every cabinet, closet, and dresser he could find. When he didn't answer, she rose up along with the Gomamon and they started following him around, "HEY!"

They were eventually stopped by Guilmon getting in their way to sniff them, "You smell really familiar. Like you've got an abandonment issues!"

"Okay, I'm scratching your face now," Gatomon said calmly, giving up her pursuit of Takato to bare her claws. Unfortunately, she was knocked over when Guilmon shoved his snout in her face to sniff her. Worried, both Juri and Leomon separated the two before they tried to kill each other. The next room appeared to be a bedroom where Takato was busy reaching underneath for something. Once again, Gatomon snapped, "What are you looking for, Tamer?"

"Clues, hints, guides," he replied sheepishly. He retrieved nothing but empty boxes, notebooks, and more, before finally grunting, "Something to help me…well, figure out what I missed. I get the feeling that old me…last me…wouldn't have taken steps to make sure that I didn't just walk out into the world unprepared for whatever I needed to do. I feel like he…I…would've left hints for myself to find. The question is, where would they be? Where would I have put it? It doesn't help that the house isn't the way I remembered it."

Juri frowned, once again reminded of the fact that this boy walking around with her classmate's face wasn't him but someone else. Living his life. The real Takato's life. Before he could get any further, they heard Takeru call from the dining room, "Tea's ready guys! And I have snacks!"

At the sound of that, Guilmon hurried out of the room and back into the kitchen to help himself, "YAY! I'M SO HUNGRY!"

"You're always hungry," Terriermon called out.

"You guys had better hurry back before he eats everything," Takato remarked quietly, still digging under the bed before giving up and hurrying over to the closet, "I'm going to be a while. I'll join you when I find...literally anything at this point."

"Juri, you should eat something," Leomon added, resting a hand on her shoulder and gently trying to move her from the door. She nodded and followed Leomon, noting that only Gomamon chose to join them. The cat-like Gatomon stayed beside Takato, tapping her foot impatiently as he made his way from one end of the room to the other. She wanted to trust that Gatomon wouldn't pick a fight, but wasn't sure Takato would make it easy for her. He seemed to have a knack for annoying people. At least they'd be nearby in case anything happened - If they could hear it that is. The dining room was packed with noise as the digimon happily gorged themselves on plates of cookies, cakes, crackers, rice balls and more. Henry sat at the far end of the table, trying his hardest to not get swept into the feeding frenzy while also getting some extra plates for Leomon and herself.

Meanwhile, the older man on the far side of the table continued to doze quietly. He must've been drunk if he was able to sleep through all the noise the digimon made. Takeru took a seat beside him and said, "Don't mind Shibumi here. He works himself to exhaustion and sleeps for days at a time once he burns himself out. He'll wake up...eventually. So, you're Henry and Juri. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. The same for your partners. It's a little nostalgic to see Leomon again after all this time. You don't happen to...remember me, do you?"

"I do, but I'm not that Leomon," her partner answered quietly, crossing his legs and resting his arms on his knees, "I'm...um...one of the Koromon from Koromon Village. You probably don't remember me but I digivolved into one of the Agumon back when we were guarding ShogunGekomon's palace."

"I do remember that, yes," Takeru nodded quietly, "But I'm sorry, I don't remember which one you are specifically. Although I understand it's normal for only digimon of the same type to be able to differentiate each other."

"Yes, that's quite true," Leomon nodded quietly, struggling to keep himself from bursting with excitement. At that moment, Takato returned into the room with his hands in his pockets, "You guys should just try using names then. It'd help. It's not like Henry or Juri go around calling themselves human or I just call myself Guardian."

"No, you go by Tamer," Gatomon snarked from behind him before finally joining the table to eat. Takato leaned against the door frame into the dining room and crossed his arms, his gaze shifting around the room as he mumbled, "It's gotta be around here somewhere. Where else would I put it? Never mind. So TK, what are you doing here?"

Takeru's expression turned dour, taking a small sip of tea before answering, "I'm hiding and the Digital World seemed like the safest place at the moment. My books might've made me famous but they also put a target on my back. One that put all of our digimon in danger. You remember that ninja guy? Well, he warned me about some shady government officials with express interest in both the digivice and our partners. I didn't want to think about what would happen if they fell into government hands - our partners or the digivices. So I gathered them together and took them back to the Digital World."

"We didn't even get a chance to say goodbye," Armadillomon frowned, "I miss Cody."

"It's still hard to believe that your books weren't just fiction, but that everything in them was real," Henry added excitedly, "All of it. The digimon...the Digital World...the digidestined."

"Of course they are. Why wouldn't they be?" Takeru answered with a raised eyebrow. Henry's mouth fell open, "You mean you don't know?"

"Know what?" Takeru looked around the room cautiously. Takato hung his head as he answered, "He's human. Just like the rest of you. He probably hasn't even noticed anything wrong yet. Not to mention the fact that he's been hiding here for some time - he has no idea what's going on in the Real World. You at least know what's going on in the Digital World, don't you?"

Takeru shrugged, "Just some stories that I've heard whenever we go out. A lot of digimon have been fighting each other to get stronger for some reason. Some pick on the easy targets for whatever reason. We try to help out where we can and intervene, but it doesn't seem to be enough. And conflicting stories about how either you specifically have been seen traveling the Digital World with a violent digimon, you've been found in the Real World, or WarGreymon was defeated by something even the Sovereigns are afraid of. That last one turned out to be true."

"I heard," Takato remarked quietly, moving to finally take a seat at the table, "There's a lot you need to catch up on."

That was when Gatomon interrupted by slamming her paw against the table, "You can start by telling us where you've been all this time."

"Nuts to that. I want to know how Davish ish!" Veemon jumped up, "Ish be okay!? How'sh hish noodle shop!?"

Takato nodded, "I guess I owe you that much. The others are okay so far as I can tell. They're worried about you guys and want to find you. Your brother is worried sick about you, Takeru. As for me, I've been stuck in the human world for the last year trying to remember everything. Reformatting messed with my head a little, and I've been trying to get my head straight. Which leads to what I have to say: it turns out the reason why I can't concentrate is because there's more than one version of your world sitting on top of each other. They're overlapping with each other in a way that's messing with reality. I'd love to fix it, but first I need to get my head straight so that I don't make a bigger mess. And I was hoping to find something...anything. I feel like the old me wouldn't have left anything to chance."

"The Digimon part is true though. They've been showing up in our world a few at a time. At first it was just a few of them, but they kept getting stronger and stronger. It wasn't long before a really strong group of digimon started to appear called the Devas. And they were after the Catalyst...some kind of energy source that would make them strong," Henry added, "That's why we're here. They turned it into a little digimon named Calumon and we're trying to rescue him."

At the sound of the word Catalyst, Shibumi finally jolted awake and asked, "Huh? Is it here!?"

"Good morning!" Takeru greeted cheerfully as the man groggily stared around the room, eyes still half shut. Once he took notice of the new arrivals, he cracked a tired yawn and waved, "Oh, hello. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude to guests by sleeping. I'm Gorou Mizuno but my friends call me Shibumi. It's a pleasure to meet all of you."

"Hi!" Juri waved nervously. Shibumi looked around the room quietly, his tired expression hardly changing from a frown until he finally asked, "So it's safe to say that the digignomes haven't returned?"

"Haven't seen anything," Takeru answered, gesturing towards them, "I thought it was them for a while because of all the noise they were making. It turns out it was just our guests."

Juri was how completely lost and leaned over to whisper in Takato's ear, "What are the digignomes?"

"I don't know. Never heard of them, before," Takato shrugged, before loudly asking, "Sorry, what's a digignome?"

Shibumi's face lit up in excitement, while the digimon all groaned, "Please don't get him started."

"He goes on forever about this stuff," Tentomon groaned, "It's like Izzy but without Mimi to shut him up."

Their pleas didn't stop Shibumi from beginning a lengthy explanation, "I'm glad you asked. You see, when my friends and I created the Digital World several years ago, we also created several programs to act as moderating agents. Some were there to make sure none of the digital life forms became too dominant and overran the program, while others were there to help facilitate the growth of disadvantaged life. Those are the digignomes. They're small, curious little creatures that only want to help and are smart enough to know what you want when you ask. And they always answer."

Gatomon rolled her eyes, "See, that's why you don't want to ask him too many questions about them. I've lived in the Digital World all my life and I've never heard or seen digignomes until this guy showed up. Now nothing in the Digital World makes sense. And I bet you had something to do with this!"

She pointed a finger at Takato angrily and he could only throw up his hands, "Would you believe I had no idea what's going on? Because I really don't. I was hoping getting out of the mess that was the Real World would help my headache out but the Digital World didn't help things. If anything, it proves what Kenta said. The Digital World that I've spent all my life in, the one that you guys all know, is merging with the Digital World made by Henry's dad and his friends in college. And if that's the case...well, then we're in a lot of trouble. There are cracks in reality now, cracks that a lot of evil things that prey on the fragile balance of the worlds will take advantage of. It's already started to affect the flow of time. The other digidestined aren't even experiencing time at the same rate anymore and they're all in the same world. Whatever is causing this has the Sovereigns scared. I just wish I had remembered before it was too late."

Takato fell quiet again, and Juri tapped his shoulder out of concern - worried he may get lost in his own head again. Terriermon on the other hand wasn't in the mood to deal with his disbelief and frowned, "Hey! Don't get all quiet on us again! You're the only one who knows where he's going right now. The last thing we need is you spacing out if there's danger. What's got you so down anyway?"

Takato didn't answer, "It took until Leomon and Andromon jogged my memory for me to remember. WarGreymon. My partner. That's who I was supposed to find - my best friend. He was supposed to help me remember myself after I reformatted. I didn't find him soon enough. Or he didn't find me. It doesn't matter...it's too late to do anything about it now…"

He paused again, "When those drawings I made started sliding into the card reader…and it turned into a digivice…I felt guilty at first. It was like…choosing to forget something really important. Having Guilmon…felt wrong for a reason I couldn't understand. Some part of me must've remembered Agumon. But I took care of Guilmon anyway - he was a baby digimon out of his element in a world he didn't know. I just hope I don't lose him the way I lost Agumon."

Juri understood why he'd been so quiet. It was just like her mother. She'd only known Leomon for a short while and she didn't know what she'd do if anything happened to him. But Takato must've known his partner for a long time before then. It was hard to imagine what it must've been like to lose someone you've been close to for that long. Sensing his partners unease, Guilmon pushed his head against Takato's arm.

"But he's right there," Takeru gestured at the red dinosaur.

A beat of silence followed. Henry's mouth fell open and the other digimon stopped eating. All eyes were on him like he was crazy. Takato raised an eyebrow at Takeru, and Juri looked back at Guilmon again. His name was Guilmon, not WarGreymon. Takeru noticed their confusion and frowned, "The moment I found out, I went to Primary Village hoping to find his DigiEgg. It took me a while. The data was corrupted - it was missing pieces like something had tried to devour it. With Shibumi's help, we were able to recover some of the data and send it to you."

"Me? But how did you find me!? I was right under Kari's nose for months and she didn't notice!" Takato repeated quietly. Takeru smiled, "I didn't know who you were right away, but I kept tabs on you. I mean, a scrawny little kid with no memory in baggy clothes wandering around the back of my brother's concert? Something was up. The others told me to leave it alone but eventually, I pieced it together when I saw Davis's sister's photos. Your clothes were the ones Tamer wore when we last saw him. You were Tamer."

"But why didn't you tell WarGreymon?" Henry asked, "If this is true, and you knew, why not tell WarGreymon?"

Takeru's frowned deepened, "Don't get me wrong. I tried to tell him but he didn't want to know. Or rather, he wouldn't let me tell him. He said, destiny would sort itself out in the end as long as he did what came naturally. I tried give give him hints but he wasn't interested. I asked if he could give me some hints on what to expect next. He just promised me that it would be taken care of. Since he wouldn't tell me anything, I decided to take matters into my own hands and start helping out wherever I could. Before I knew it, I ended up being you. I think that's why there are rumors going around that the Digimon Tamer is back. The digimon probably think I'm you."

Patamon whistled, "For what it's worth, you would make a better Tamer than the actual Tamer."

Gatomon frowned, "I don't think it'd be that hard to be honest. Tamer was annoying for a reason."

Takeru, for his part, didn't seem bothered by the comparison. He even seemed flattered, smiling as he added, "To be fair, it's not like I was trying. It all just sort of worked out. It's like what WarGreymon would say: do what comes natural and destiny will sort itself out. We've been keeping tabs on the Digital World ever since - in your name, Tamer."

Takato didn't seem to be paying attention to them, instead staring at Guilmon quietly. The digimon realized he was being stared at and looked up with a half eaten rice ball hanging out of his offered one to Takato, who brushed it aside to hug his partner. There was something sad about that hug though - something Takato wouldn't say and Guilmon didn't understand. Once he let go, Takato rubbed his eyes, "Huh. So this is what it feels like to be on the other side of the whole not knowing destiny thing. I don't like it."

"Welcome to the club," Gomamon rolled his eyes. Leomon cleared his throat, anxiously asking, "There's one part of this I don't understand. Why do all this? Why not just come out and tell everyone?"

Takeru's gaze went downward, "Because I haven't forgotten what happened when the Digimon Tamer and Agumon weren't around to protect the Digital World. The moment I realized he was a clueless kid in Japan…I knew I had to step in. But, the truth is, I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing. But I still had to try. We did it in his name because the alternative would've been worse. I didn't realize until I started that this is a duty that never ends. There's always something about to go wrong, something about to destroy the Digital World or our world. And it's all we can do to keep the world from falling apart."

* * *

Henry found himself carrying a feeling of dread. Takeru's admission carried an air of guilt and his expression became tired as he said that. Is this what it meant to be a digidestined? Wrapped up in an unending mission to save a world always on the verge of tearing itself apart. The more he thought on it, the more he was terrified of his own future. And his own family was partially involved in this. Making it worse was Shibumi's gaze on him the entire time. Bothered, he asked, "Um…Shibumi, why do you keep looking at me?"

"Sorry, you just remind me of a friend of mine," he answered with a soft smile, "An old friend of mine, and I was wondering if you might be his relation. You wouldn't happen to know a Zhenyu Lee, would you?"

"That's my dad," Henry answered, remembering something his dad told him, "I thought I remembered your name. Your that friend of his that went missing after your project was shut down. But what happened to you? How did you get here?"

Shibumi beamed, "I'm glad he still remembers me. Truth be told, I have no idea. My memory becomes hazy between the project being shut down and waking up here. I remember graduation, vaguely. I don't know what else happened afterwards. But since I've been here, I figured I might as well continue my project and research life as it evolved here. Inconsistencies aside, the complexity and variety of life here is enough to make me marvel. And this Ancient technology Takeru introduced me to is a whole other thing to behold. I could spend a lifetime researching this and only scratch the surface."

"But you managed to learn enough to manipulate the data of a deleted digimon and send it to me," Takato stated skeptically, scratching his chin, "Color me impressed. But I'd like it if you stopped. The last thing we need is anyone using reality altering technology while reality itself is crumbling around us."

Shibumi waved his hands, "No can do. I still have bug fixes on the digivice models I've been working on. Takeru would like these ready as soon as possible."

"Wait, so you made these?" Takato lifted up his red trimmed digivice, "Because I have a lot of notes you should consider! First of all, I can't figure it out. Second of all, I love the card reader! Can you add more features like that? Third! How does this radar function work? Sometimes it detects digimon and sometimes it doesn't! What exactly is it doing?"

Shibumi waved his hand dismissively, "It's not meant for one like yourself to use. It's meant for children. Like the digidestined and their partners before them, with a few improvements suggested by Takeru. I'd be more than happy to show you how to use it to its full potential. That way, you won't have any trouble in the future."

"Yes, please!" Juri said quickly, jumping at the chance in front of her. She looked at Henry and Takato too, hoping they would join her. Henry nodded in agreement but Takato held up a hand and gestured at Takeru, "Wait, why do you want to make working digivices? I'm pretty sure we've been down this road before...somewhere...and I vaguely remember dying afterwards."

Juri jumped at that statement and noticed Takeru's attitude become more serious, "In truth, Tamer, it's because I'm not going to be around forever and I know for a fact that you're not always around. I had to take steps to prepare everything for a moment when the Digital World would need help and we weren't going to be around. And with everything going on, I figured now would be a good time to test drive it - so Shibumi and I each picked a child we knew. I picked Izzy and Mimi's daughter - you've probably met her already. Her name is Ruki."

"You mean Rika!" Terriermon said cheerily. Shibumi gestured at Henry with a smile, "And I chose you. Although, I thought you'd be a lot younger than you are now. I suppose what Tamer here was saying about time was true. Although I can't imagine it's been that long."

"My dad says he hasn't heard from you since college and that would've been before I was born," Henry answered quietly, unsure how the man would take the news, "That would've been before I was born. And I'm ten!"

"Huh, I guess it has been a while," Shibumi mused. He took that all surprisingly well - no shock, no alarm, not even a gasp. Just a small smile and a nod. His dad's friend was either really good at maintaining his composure or really didn't think missing ten years of his life was a big deal. Juri broke the silence by raising her hand, "Um, excuse me. Why did I get a digivice?"

"What?" Both Takeru and Shibumi said together. She raised it up, "I got it when I helped Leomon. But you said you each gave a digivice to your friends' kids. Did you know my dad? Or my mom?"

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't. I have no idea why you got a digivice," Takeru scratched the back of his head. Shibumi snapped his fingers, "I think I do. I've always wondered how much of my work actually affects the Digital World. After all, I am altering the fabric of the Digital Space. I tailored the algorithms of my digivices to work for children with strong ties to digimon. It's entirely possible that went from being a hard code in my digivices design to a fact of the Digital World. So now any child with a strong enough bond to a digimon could, in theory, receive a digivice."

"Oh," she frowned. Leomon returned the smile on her face when he added, "It just means that we're really close, Juri."

Shibumi cracked a small, tired yawn and rose from his seat, "I think we've talked enough for now. How about we get started on the lesson? First up, how digivolution works!"

* * *

Shibumi spent the rest of the day showing them how to use the digivices, even introducing features they didn't even know it had. Before they knew it, day turned to night and Takeru set up some extra futons for them to sleep on. It was nice to have a comfortable bed to sleep on for the first time in a while, and Juri found herself resting comfortably in a way she hadn't in a long time. It was ruined only because eating and drinking her fill made her wake up in the middle of the night to relieve herself.

She was careful to tiptoe her way around the room so as not to disturb the other digimon and made her way out into the restroom. On her way back, she noticed the front door was left open and went to close it, stopping only when she saw someone just outside on the edge of the garden. She was alarmed at first, until she heard Takato's voice, "It has to be here, somewhere. If I were me, where would I leave it?"

"Takato?" she said quietly, rubbing her tired eyes and stepping out into the yard towards his voice. She found him walking the edge of the garden, examining the outer wall carefully and tapping it occasionally as he pressed ear against it. He jumped when she asked, "What are you doing?"

He corrected himself and tried to play it off, "Still looking for clues, hints. I keep thinking about it. I wouldn't have left myself or anyone out in the dark like this. There has to be something. But where? I had to have put it somewhere!"

"Shouldn't we get Guilmon?" Juri asked. Takato shook his head, "He's had a long day and he needs to rest. Besides, he's probably like me - only very fuzzy memories of being who he used to be. And I don't want to force him to remember something he can't."

"Well, do you mind if I look with you?" Juri asked quietly, sure of how alone Takato or Tamer must've been feeling right now. He nodded, "The more, the merrier."

They continued searching the perimeter of the wall, examining things carefully until they eventually came upon a white stone on the far end of the yard obscured by some bushes and plants. It was an odd decoration, worn by time and slightly overgrown. She pointed at it and asked, "What's that?"

"A reminder," Takato answered quietly, approaching quietly and removing some of the brush that had overgrown it. He wiped the dust off it, seemingly intent of restoring. Juri looked down at him and asked, "Of what?"

He sighed, "I don't want to talk about it. But maybe Takeru was right. Maybe we should just follow Agumon's advice. Just do what comes natural and destiny will sort itself out in the end."

He continued to dust off the white stone until something fell off the top from beneath the brush and dust. Juri picked it up but it was to dim to see properly, "A piece of paper? What is this?"

"Here," Takato took out his digivice and turned on the screen for them, holding it like a light on the photograph. It showed an assembly of kids in armor beside digimon, standing beside another adult in armor. Beneath it was text she couldn't read but there was one thing that stood out to her. Takato was on the picture, dressed in black clothes beneath white armor. Takato stared down at the photo in surprise, "I forgot about this. It's my old unit - Thirteenth Youth Corp. A recon and supply unit back in the war."

"You were all just kids," Juri said in disbelief. She'd known about the war. She didn't know they were kids. Takato nodded, "The war was getting desperate, back then. But that wasn't me. That was."

He pointed at another boy on the picture, one with fiery brown hair standing beside a small orange dinosaur. Juri looked at the boy, standing just a few heads away from the Takato she knew. The one who vanished. She pointed at him, "If that's you, then what happened to Takato? The _real_ Takato."

Takato was quiet for the longest time after she asked that question, and it took her perhaps a moment too long to understand why. Once she did, she dropped the photo and felt tears start to stream down her eyes. She didn't know why though. She had barely known Takato before - he was just a kid in her class who was really into digimon. But knowing now hurt her in a way she couldn't understand. She did manage to calm herself down enough to ask, "What are we going to tell his parents?"

"The truth," was all Tamer answered, folding the photo in half and sticking it into his back pocket, "They deserve to know that much. Their son is gone. The most we can do now is make sure he's not forgotten. And that means I'm going to have to do whatever he's supposed to be here doing. And Juri…I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

She wasn't sure why he was apologizing or why it hurt to know what happened to the real Takato. But it hurt her in a way she couldn't put into words.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** The horrible truth of the real Takato's fate has been discovered. What happens now and how will this affect how the others see Tamer Takato? What will happen when Rika and her group meet up with the others? And just where is Calumon right now? Find out all this and more on the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name in two weeks on Friday, October 11th at 5 PM CDT. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. Don't forget to favorite the story to show support and favorite to keep up with all the latest updates! That's all for now, let's look at previews for the next chapter!

"Haven't heard that speech before. The Deva part is new," TK remarked, helping Takato out of the water and gesturing at the monkey, "That him?"

"Yep," Takato nodded, "That's the monkey who kidnapped our friend."

"YOU WILL ADDRESS ME AS LORD MAKURAMON!" the monkey seethed angrily, fuming as he continued jumping up and down. TK raised an eyebrow, "I don't see a lord, just a child throwing a tantrum."

"DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM!?"

"Do I look like I care?" he fired back


	28. Lakeside Rumble

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 28: Lakeside Rumble**

Ken Ichijouji stared at the numerous computers lining the walls of the massive office space they were given. Although he had all this raw processing power available at his disposal, he couldn't help but feel powerless when it came to figuring out how to get back into the Digital World. It should have been easy with their newer digivices - just point it at the screen and open a Digiport. But if it had been so simple, they would have just gone to the Digital World already and found their partners. And even if he could have gone, that wasn't a guarantee that they could save the kids who'd just gone missing.

While these computers were a far cry from anything Ancient technology could produce, they were still generations ahead of his home computer; or anything he and his wife could build at home. And that brought to mind the laptop of their missing comrade - Takeru Takaishi, who just mysteriously vanished into thin air one day along with all their partners.

"Is there something bothering you, Ichijouji?" Yamaki asked from the side. Ken avoided making eye contact, not wanting to give away what he was thinking or appear nervous around them, "Just thinking."

"Admiring our super computer? It's code name is Yggdrasil," Yamaki folded its arms, "It's far ahead of its time, even back when it was first made. If we hadn't allocated it for government purposes, this baby could've cracked the human genome or probably have found a cure for cancer."

"Wait! That's Yggdrasil! My baby!"the 'Monster Maker' called Daisy cried out, rushing towards the massive machine to hug it, "I spent every weekend I had trying to make this baby work! Look at how big its gotten! How many gigaflops can she do now?"

"Try Teraflops, pushing on Petaflops," Yamaki answered quietly. Ken had to restrain a whistle. That was no minor accomplishment. That level of technology was pushing the boundaries of what was possible and had him wondering what kind of scope this program was working under. As he wondered how much brain power went into making such a monster of a computer, the woman named Daisy knocked on it proudly to boast, "This was the original piece of hardware we ran our simulation on - the one that would become the digimon. Designed it by having three hundred processors running in parallel and modifying the operating system to take full advantage of it! I call it Yggy for short!"

Yamaki pulled her away from the massive machine, "For security purposes, we confiscated the machine. It was too dangerous to leave out for anyone to get their hands on. But no one could've ever dreamed what the hardware could be capable of. It practically ran the Juggernaut program. It was almost like it was supposed to be."

Ken had heard those words before and they still invited very angering memories from a time before now. Back when destiny was the only thing that mattered to him. Back when all he cared about was taking it into his own hands and denying whatever it had in store before he chose to live in blissful ignorance.

Destiny...

Destiny...

It couldn't have been that simple. And if it was, he was going to be very mad, "Matt. Where's your brother's laptop?"

The man jumped at the sound of his name, "Still in my car, why?"

"We're going to need it. I think I just figured out TK's password."

* * *

Rika followed just behind Ryo and Cyberdramon, her partner falling further behind because of Kazu and Kenta becoming more worn out as they traveled further. It bothered her that they had come along at all and she found herself pondering why Takato was okay with them coming at all. So far, they'd been nothing but a drag on the team. Then she remembered the parts from the book - how The Digimon Tamer was a master manipulator who would always ensure you accomplished your destiny. She wondered if they were here to find partners, or to become bait for whatever danger they would encounter next.

Whichever the case, she just figured she would have to protect them for now. If their destiny was to die, she would make sure to give Takato another headache. She was not here to babysit and she wasn't here to watch anyone die. Thankfully, Ryo's guidance had kept them alive and well. They managed to avoid any serious fights using tricks he'd learned to sneak around some digimon. But there were many that were unavoidable because of his partner. Cyberdramon would occasionally indulge his violent anger and attack the large or strong digimon, which dragged them into the fight as things escalated until they were ragged.

But after days of walking and only a few life endangering battles behind them, they eventually came across a river passing through the forest. Ryo took out his map and checked it against his digivice, "Okay. Your friend Andromon should be around here somewhere."

"Are you sure?" Kenta looked around them carefully, "I don't see him."

"Well he's here, somewhere. I marked the spot on my map," Ryo said, quietly double checking his map and gesturing at the stream, "If I had to take a guess, the current probably moved him further down. I bet we'll find him if we follow the river."

Cyberdramon roared into the sky before running down the path of the stream, growling angrily at something in the distance. He only stopped when Ryo used his digivice to summon a rope of light to restrain his partner down to his knees, "DOWN! STOP CYBERDRAMON! BAD! NO FIGHTING FOR YOU!"

"What's his deal?" Kazu asked, gesturing to the chaotic digimon as he continued trying to thrash and growl at something further ahead. Ryo yanked back on his digivice, still trying to pull Cyberdramon back and grunting out, "He probably sensed a strong digimon nearby and wants to fight! DOWN! I SAID DOWN! It could be your friend! STOP!"

After a moment, Renamon leapt onto Cyberdramon's back and struck him across the head to silence him. She raised up another hand, "Quiet! I hear something."

Rika closed her eyes and tried to focus on her environment but heard nothing, "I don't hear anything. What is it?"

"It's...Andromon," she leapt off Cyberdramon and took off at a sprint. Her dash inspired Cyberdramon to give one good pull that resulted in Ryo falling flat on the ground and getting dragged along. They gave chase after the two running digimon, just barely able to keep them in sight until they reached their destination and found the limp form of Andromon caught against a log that was half stuck in the water. The mechanical digimon twitched and fidgeted, monotonously spouting out nonsense, "Error! Error! System Int...Damaged! Compartment Hous...Com...mised! Att…empt re…pair! Error! File Not Found! Err...or!"

"Whoa, what happened to him?" Kazu called out, "Gimme a hand!"

He grabbed the log, pulling as hard as he could to get it to shore. Even though it barely moved, he refused to give up, "It's no good. This thing weighs a ton!"

"One side," Renamon pushed the boy aside, "Rika?"

"On it," Rika was already ahead of her, shuffling through her deck for the right, "DigiModify! Strength Boost, Activate!"

With one arm, Renamon pulled the log up onto the river bank - bringing Andromon to shore with it. Andromon rolled onto the dirt with a metal clang, still twitching violently with every noise and spark. Kazu ran to his side to inspect the poor ultimate until he was pulled back by Kenta, "Watch it, Kazu! He's sparking see! You could electrocute yourself!"

"Not what I'm worried about, Kenta," Kazu barked, inspecting the digimon carefully. Rika rolled her eyes, unsure of what he thought he was going to find. The guy obviously didn't know anything about computers. What did he think he was going to accomplish by pretending to know anything about fixing an advanced android digimon? But even she was surprised when he thought to open up the panel inside Andromon's arm to pull out the digivice, "What are you doing!?"

"Takato spent a lot of time trying to fix this up, right!? I bet we can use it to fix him! He's always going on about how much better the old digivice is compared to the new one. I bet you it can do that!" Kazu turned the beaten and worn device in his hand wearily, unsure of what he was actually doing. He pressed a few buttons in an attempt to get some sort of reaction from the device but never expected it to start glowing the way it did. Through the bright light, they watched the device morph in his hand into another digivice like Rika's or Ryo's. She felt her mouth drop open in disbelief. There was no way Kazu was a tamer like they were. Kenta maybe - he was admittedly smart. But Kazu? The guy took the longest to figure out his teacher was Kari Kamiya! But the hits kept coming.

The same light that morphed the digivice, also drew light from Andromon until the digimon regressed to his champion form of a Guardromon. That seemed to calm Cyberdramon down some as he was no longer growling or gnashing his teeth at them. Guardomon's eyes shot open once the transformation was finished and he looked around in a daze, "Where am I?"

"Welcome back to the land of the living, man! You were almost fried in the water. But don't worry! We pulled you out in time," Kazu explained, gesturing to the river behind him. Guardromon's eyes followed the path back to the river before widening in surprise, "I see. Thank you for...what's wrong with my voice? And why are my processes so much slower? Also, my sensors indicate a loss in mobility and speed. Visual sensors also suggest loss in height. Recalibration will be necessary to...this is so very wrong."

"It's because your Guardromon again!" Kazu said excitedly, holding up his new digivice gleefully, "And check this out! We're partners! Just like Takato and Guilmon or Ryo and Cyberdramon! You and I, we're going to be the best in the entire Digital World!"

"Keep dreaming, Kazu," Kenta frowned, gesturing at Ryo and then to Rika, "Because those two are the Digimon King and Queen! They're literally light years ahead of you. You've got a long way to go before you catch up to them."

Rika noticed Ryo turning his head away, likely flustered at the compliment. Rika didn't mind being referred to as the Queen of Digimon but wondered why he had to emphasize Ryo was the King. It's not like any of that stuff actually mattered.

"I'm still way ahead of you," Kazu stuck his tongue, only to be served a slice of humble pie when Kenta responded, "That's really not as impressive as it sounds. I know I suck at the game."

"If you're both done, we really should get going," Renamon interrupted, separating the two boys before they could continue their argument and adding, "We still have to find the rest of our friends and your continued bickering isn't going to help anything."

"Right! Sorry, just got a little excited," Kazu said half-heartedly, still gazing at his digivice and his new partner excitedly, "I can't believe it! I'm a digidestined! I got a digivice and everything!"

"Lucky you," Kenta kicked the dirt quietly, joining Ryo as he unfurled his map, "Well, good news for us is this stream will lead us right to the lake where the others were heading. It should only be a short walk away."

"Then let's get started! We're burning day light!" Rika declared, tired of following behind Ryo and taking the lead with Renamon. It also saved her the trouble of having to listen to Kazu drone on about how awesome it was to have a real digimon partner. He wasn't wrong, it was awesome to have a partner. He just really aggravated her when he wouldn't stop talking.

They walked for about another hour, with Kazu providing Guardromon with his version of events after they were pulled into the pillar of light. Of course it was a while before Guardromon finally noticed Ryo and Cyberdramon in front of him, "Query, Kazu. Who are these two?"

"Oh? These guys? He's the legend in our world, the greatest digimon card game player ever! Ryo Akiyama and that's his partner Cyberdramon!"

Guardromon turned his head, "He's from your world? However, he wears the combat armor of a Council Guard."

Ryo raised up his armored glove and said, "This thing? I just stole it from the castle. I needed to wear something after my clothes started falling apart. They weren't exactly made for hanging out in another world for years."

"I see. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ryo and Cyberdramon," Andromon greeted the pair. Cyberdramon answered with a low guttural growl before, barely nodding his head as he started getting antsy. It wasn't long before he started growling again but he was more restrained this time. To be safe, Ryo used his digivice to restrain the unruly creature in case he did try to run off. They went some distance ahead before finally exiting the forest to find a large crystal blue lake awaiting them.

In a place as insanely violent and horrific as the Digital World, it was nothing short of strange to see such a beautiful place. Ryo examined his map again, fumbling to hold it as he tried to keep Cyberdramon on his restraints, "If my map is right, this is it. This is the lake where your friends were heading."

"But I don't see them," Kenta said, turning his head up and down the lake shore in search of any sign of the others. Rika was sure there was some kind of mistake - as beautiful as this place was, there was no sign of the others anywhere. Maybe Ryo had the wrong lake? Or the others had already come and gone? Anything was possible! It'd taken them days to get here. Maybe they were already long gone!

She sighed and took a seat, "I need a break. I'm tired of all this walking!"

"We all need a break," Renamon joined her, "Maybe we should eat first and then decide on what to do afterwards. I notice that some of you get cranky when you haven't eaten."

Rika tried to ignore the look Renamon was giving her, and stifled a laugh when Kazu whole heartedly agreed. They broke out more of the bread and juice they'd been given by Babamon and settled into eat by the lake side, enjoying a rare moment of peace and serenity in the wild Digital World. And it lasted for all of about ten minutes before a light appeared from the sky. The light hovered just above them all in the lake for a few moments before rapidly descending downwards. It hit the water with a splash, glowing through the water surface until it disappeared into the darkness. Renamon stood up, staring in disbelief, "Was that Calumon? In a cage?"

"Wait, Calumon?" Kazu scrambled up first, grabbing his digivice, "Where?'

"In the light," Renamon answered, "I swear, it had to be him."

"He's in the lake! We gotta go get him!" Kazu was about to jump into the water when Ryo grabbed him by his collar and pulled him back, "Hold it. We don't know how deep that lake is or if we can get to him in time! We don't even know if that was the digimon you're looking for! We need to think this through!"

"Okay Ryo! I'll follow your lead! What's the plan?" Kazu said excitedly, clearly ready to go go along with whatever plan Ryo had. It made Rika sigh in exasperation, wishing that kid would be as level headed as he was excitable.

* * *

Henry awoke bright and early the next day to find Juri already sitting at the table, sipping at a cup of hot tea quietly. She appeared to have not slept a wink that night with small circles beginning to form under her reddened eyes. Henry took a seat beside her and asked, "Morning Juri. What's wrong?"

She didn't answer, quietly staring into her tea. He could hear shuffling from somewhere around the house and followed the noise to see Takato busy in the kitchen preparing some food. It was odd to see him working so calmly in the kitchen, then realized he didn't know much about him beyond the fact that his parents worked in the bakery. Perhaps working in a kitchen was second nature to him? Guilmon was in there beside him, helping him prepare a great big helping of eggs and bacon in between eating them for himself.

Then he remembered. This wasn't the real Takato. This was some ancient being with his face. Perhaps The Digimon Tamer was a really good cook?

Shibumi let out a loud snore, alarming Henry and making him realize the man was lying face down on the table with a blanket wrapped around him. He tried to crack a joke to lighten Juri's mood, "He can sleep through anything, huh? We'd probably get attacked and no one would notice."

Nothing. Again, she continued to stare down at the tea cup silently. He wondered if she'd fallen asleep with her eyes open and tapped her on the shoulder, snapping her out of her stupor so that she looked up at him. He smiled, "Morning. You alright? You were spacing out."

"It's," she paused, her gaze shifting downward and her words failing her as she tried to think of what to say. The long silence made him uneasy, and he wondered what exactly was bothering her so much. It seemed he'd have to wait a little longer as the bedroom door slid open for the first of the digimon to come out. Gabumon, leading the way for Gomamon, Palmon, Biyomon, and Gatomon, "What smells so good?"

"Takatomon is cooking!" Guilmon said happily, coming out with two large platters: one full of fried eggs and the other with cooked slices of ham. Takato came out just behind him with a big pot of rice and another plate full of toasted bread. After placing the food on the table, they retrieved some plates and forks for the others to use. Takato passed the plates around and said, "Eat your fill guys because we've got a long trip of ahead of us."

"Where are we going? And why are you making all this food for us?" Biyomon asked as she began to eat some of the eggs. Henry looked away from it, unsure if it counted as cannibalism or not for a bird to be eating eggs.

"We've got a long walk to make to get where we're going. Well, not you guys. We do," Takato answered quickly, "There's a lot of ground to cover to the Hallowed Bastion. We need to find the others and I'll need the computers there to do it. What's left of them anyway."

As he spoke, Henry noticed that Juri was staring at him quietly. Once he was done, she opened her mouth to talk but didn't make a sound. From out of nowhere, she retrieved her yellow sock puppet and slipped it over her hand. She used it to ask whatever she couldn't, "Shouldn't we tell the others about last night?"

Takato waved her off dismissively, "What happened last night was just a reminder of a bad day. They don't need to worry about something that happened forever ago."

Even Henry could tell that was a bold faced lie, "What happened last night?"

"Nothing," was all Takato answered, making a show of making a plate of food for him and slamming it in front of him, "Eat up."

Henry took the plate quietly, amused that his poor attempt at dodging the subject was a no sell to the other digimon. Even the normally calm Gabumon looked up from his meal to say, "We all know that's just fancy words for you to avoid telling us things. You're name's Juri, right? If he's not going to tell us, will you? It's the only way were going to find out what you two are talking about."

Juri averted her eyes, holding up the sock puppet again to quietly answer, "He's...not the real Takato. We were hoping to find the real Takato while we were in the Digital World. And we did. Sort of. It was an old photo. It confirmed what we were worried about: the real Takato is...not around any more."

Henry blinked at the news, suddenly losing any appetite he had. Takato - the real Takato - was dead. Was it something in the Digital World that did him in? It was possible; he was gone for a whole year. It was just a lot to take in. He was dead. Takato Matsuda was dead, and his life was being lived by another guy wearing his face.

"Knowing Tamer, that is literally the least surprising thing you could've told us. I was half expecting you to say the world was going to end again," Gatomon rolled her eyes, "Or that destiny said we were all going to die."

The digimon took that news surprisingly nonchalantly, as if they'd heard worse and weren't too alarmed by the revelation. Takato's reaction to this revelation was hardest to read, mostly because he didn't react. And that would've made it worse if he didn't add, "There was nothing any of us could've done. It was in the past."

"But you were there, weren't you?" Juri asked with her sock puppet. Henry held up his hand to get their attention, confused by that statement, "Hang on a minute. How was he there?"

Juri looked at Takato expectantly and he paused for a moment before retrieving a photo from his pocket, sliding it across the table for Henry to see. The photo felt old and faded but he could clearly see its contents. Upon examination, Henry saw several children dressed in armor and digimon standing beside them, all in orderly lines. But the most remarkable thing about the photo was Takato among those child soldiers, dressed in their armor and smiling at the camera. Tamer-Takato's answer didn't help things, "That photo is over a hundred thousand years old. The real Takato isn't around any more."

"But I don't get it. If this is photo is that old, how are you...he...how is the real Takato on it?" Henry asked.

* * *

After listening to Kazu and Kenta talk digimon non stop for several hours, Rika got up to take a walk around the edge of the lake. Renamon offered to come with but Rika insisted she'd be fine. In truth, she just wanted some time to get her head straight. She was furious, not at Kazu and Kenta for singing Ryo's praises at his skill in the digimon card game, but at the fact that this is where he'd been for all this time. And at herself for not really knowing how to talk to him about it. He was, after all, her friend. At least, that was how she felt.

She walked until she came upon an especially rocky part of the beach, where she stopped to skip stones along the water's edge. She probably should've remembered to pack her CD player and some music - something to help her calm down and get her mind off things. As she watched the stones skip across the water's surface, she noticed Ryo breaking away from the rest of the group to join her. It wasn't long before he was standing beside her, hands in his pockets awkwardly as he began, "Hey."

"Hi," she answered back sheepishly, tossing the next stone across the water's edge and getting three skips out of it, "What did you want?"

He rubbed his neck awkwardly, "I just wanted to talk."

She waited for him to say something but he just continued to stand there awkwardly. And she was starting to get embarrassed by it, casting another stone into the water as she stated, "Are you going to spit it out or just stand there staring?"

"Um...sorry," he frowned, smiling sheepishly as he added, "Between the two us, I kinda forgot how to do small talk. This world does stuff to you the longer you're stuck here. The rules are just...so different."

She recalled the parts from the book she'd read and realized Ryo might've ended up like another Tamer if he had been trapped here any longer. Just like Kari Kamiya's brother. If he even was her brother. The more she thought on it, the more it made her head hurt - he hadn't been wrong so far but she still didn't let herself forget that they couldn't trust him. Ryo almost became that. Then again, she'd only been here for a few days and she was already starting to go crazy from the insanity of this place. She cast another stone into the water and remarked, "It feels like the Digital World does that. How'd you do it? Survive for so long, I mean. Most people would've gone crazy after twenty years of this. Why not you?"

Ryo picked up a stone and threw it hard into the lake, watching it make one splash before sinking, "I did it by reminding myself that I was going to find my way home. No matter what, I was going to get home. That one day this nightmare would be all over and I was going to see my parents, my friends...you..."

He said that just as she skipped another stone, and the surprise of that made the stone splash straight into the water. She noticed Ryo had turned his head to hide the fact that his face was now bright red. And she could feel her heart beat faster in her chest. Did he...like her? Ew! Gross. Why did he have to make it weird. He was a friend, and she missed being able to talk to him. Why did he have to make it something mushy?

Ryo rubbed the back of his neck, "Sorry...it was just...different to find someone who could keep up with me in the card game. Most people go down in the first few rounds but you kept up with me. You even had me sweating a few times during the tournament. I was convinced that if anyone was going to beat me, it would be you. I actually wanted to talk to you more but stuff got in the way."

Oh good, he wasn't making it weird. Because that was the last thing she needed in this world of madness: a guy she hadn't seen in a long time confessing that he was into her. Hearing that he missed a friend put a smile of relief on her face and she cast another stone into the water, "Same. It got kinda boring after you vanished."

She could see him smiling out of the corner of her eye and that put a smile on her face. Before she could even enjoy this moment though, she heard a sound of thunder in the distance. Her eyes moved skyward towards a bright light hurtling towards the lake until it sank beneath its surface. A falling star? A meteorite? Did the Digital World have those? Was this supposed to be common. She looked over to Ryo who was just as dumbfounded by it until another noise caught their attention. A loud roar followed by a flash of lightning as a slender green serpent appeared over the lake, ridden by a familiar monkey hopping on its head, "YOU THINK YOU CAN RUN FROM ME? EMBARRASS ME IN FRONT OF THE SOVEREIGN! COME BACK HERE YOU INSOLENT LITTLE RODENT! DON'T IGNORE ME!"

* * *

Henry's mind reeled as he tried to process everything that was happening in front of him. He felt like he'd been hit with a ton of bricks all at once with this information. To make it all worse, there was a loud boom overhead followed by a bright ball of light hurrying into the kitchen. They all leapt back in surprise as the balls of light deposited a little white digimon with big ears on the table. Calumon, happily cheering as he bounced around the food, "Yay! Again! Again!"

"Oh great, more people making themselves at home in my house," Takato complained loudly.

"Watch our for the rice!" Armadillomon managed to swipe it out to the way before Calumon could step in it.

"Calumon?" Henry sputtered out. All the noise stirred the rest of the inhabitants of the house, prompting Leomon, Terriermon, Takeru, and Shibumi to awaken. Shibumi was the only one not freaking out at the sudden intrusion, reaching out a hand to the ball of light, "It's about time you got back. Good job. Thank you for bringing him here. But I don't think it's what I asked for."

The light cooed and Shibumi laughed, "No kidding. Well that is a surprise."

"I don't understand! How did you get here?" Juri asked, "How did he get here?"

"Hi guys! I missed you! It was really lonely without you guys! Those other guys were super mean to me. I didn't like them. Not one bit," Calumon explained cheerily as Shibumi offered, "I asked the Digi-gnomes to get him for me. It appeared on my radar not too long ago - a massive power source entering the Digital World. I thought it would be good to acquire it for my research. But I didn't expect it to be so...well, small and adorable."

Another boom shook the foundations of the house and Takato slammed his fist on the table, "Again? What's going now!? I swear, if it's some more of the neighbors picking a fight."

* * *

"Rika!" Renamon called out to her, appearing just behind her. She jumped at her partner's arrival, "How long were you there? Have you been watching us this whole time?"

"Long enough to know that you two are deeply in denial about your feelings," Renamon answered, pointing at the giant dragon digimon, "Worry about that later! There's a dragon deva over there and we need to stop it before it does anything!"

"Y-yeah, r-right," Rika stammered, producing her digivice and trying to come up with a plan of attack. That digimon was massive! Bigger than any they'd faced before. And it was a deva? She'd have to think her approach carefully otherwise they'd all be killed. So far, it hadn't noticed them which gave them an advantage. Just as she came up with an idea of what to do, she heard Cyberdramon roar out ecstatically, "FINALLY! A WORTHY OPPONENT! FACE ME! FIGHT ME!"

The dragon deva turned its head in time to see Cyberdramon flying at him and slamming into him from the side with enough force to punch him back out of the air. The dragon roared back in anger and Makuramon became more furious, "DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE ME YOU WRETCHED, INSIGNIFICANT, WASTE OF DIGI-"

Cyberdramon didn't give him a chance to respond, climbing over the dragon's form so that he could personally punch the monkey across the face. At this rate, she wouldn't need to do anything and Cyberdramon would take care of the monster digimon for them. Ryo didn't seem to see it that way and was instead panicking, "Oh crap! Cyberdramon needs to be calmed down."

"Why? I think he's doing a good job. Let those devas have a taste of their own medicine for once," Rika answered, folding her arms and watching Cyberdramon go to town. He was now busy using Makuramon as a bat to beat the dragon digimon and throw them around wildly. Ryo wasn't as happy about it and shouted, "You don't understand! When he gets like this, he becomes uncontrollable. He loses himself to his own violent bloodlust! He may stop them, sure, but then he'll turn on us! It doesn't matter if we're friend or foe, he'll just want to kill everything in sight!"

"Oh, that's bad," Rika looked at Renamon, trying to size her partner up against Ryo's. As it stood, she didn't stand a chance. She could swipe her entire deck and Renamon would still get knocked around silly by that mad digimon. There was no way to win without her partner digivolving. And without Calumon or one of those mystery cards, there was no way this was going to happen. Retreat seemed like the best idea right now. That's what she thought anyway, when she noticed a head pop out of the water.

The goggle head poking his head out of the water to examine the fight overhead, "What's all this noise! Why are you guys fighting outside my house!?"

"Goggle-head!" Rika shouted, making the boy turn in surprise, "Oh! Rika! You're okay! Are those guys with you? Tell them to take it elsewhere!"

She wasn't sure what she was expecting from the boy who seemed to have nothing sensible going on about him and was just generally untrustworthy. Her mind raced with questions to ask, not the least of which was what were they doing in the lake when a boom above their heads reminded them that there was a fight they needed to be paying attention to. She scowled, "Will you shut up and help us already? Those are the Devas! They are our chance to find Calumon! For once you can talk them to death if you want!"

Takato threw up his hands, "I'm not putting anything to death! But we can talk to them and sort this out. Actually, never mind. That crazy digimon looks like it's going to delete them in a second anyway. Who is that? He looks familiar. Do I owe him money?"

"That digimon is going to attack us next if we don't calm him down before he destroys the Devas!" Rika practically snapped at Takato, who turned his head in surprise. Then he noticed Ryo standing beside her. And for whatever reason, that became the focus of his attention, "Sorry, was I interrupting something?"

"Takato!" Rika groaned. He nodded and threw a set of cards her way, offering what must've counted to him as an apology, "Right, right. Here! Take these! They'll help!"

Rika caught it in her hand and her mouth fell open at the sight of another of those mysterious blue cards that'd found its way into her deck. She looked up at Takato in disbelief, "Is this what I think it is?"

"Yeah, it's good for one use. Swipe it through and Renamon will go straight to her champion level! Get in there while I go get the others!" Takato said, disappearing back beneath the waves before she could get another word in. What did that even mean? Were the others just swimming around down there? Should she even be surprised at this point with how weird the Digital World was. She sighed and nodded to her partner, signaling her to run ahead into battle as she swiped the card, "Digimodify!"

"Renamon! Digivolve to! Kyubimon!"

Kyubimon stopped at the water's edge, lighting her tails with blue flame and hurling them towards the digimon above, "FOX TAIL INFERNO!"

The large dragon digimon was so busy flailing against Cyberdramon's rampage that he didn't notice the attacks until they struck his skin. He howled even louder as Cyberdramon used the opening to kick his mouth closed on his tongue. The dragon hissed in anger while Makuramon grunted, "OH! DO YOU WANT TO GO TOO!? I'VE HAD IT! NO MORE GAMES! YOU DIE FIRST! THEN WHATEVER THIS IS!"

Makuramon leapt off the dragon and dove straight at Kyubimon. Or rather, straight at Rika just behind the fox digimon. Realizing the danger she was in, Kyubimon lowered herself so that Rika and Ryo could climb aboard and took off away from the monkey just in time to see it crash. It created a dust cloud so large that it cast a shadow over the lake obscured the fight between Cyberdramon and the dragon. They could vaguely make out his outline making motions through the smoke and watched two balls of energy shoot out towards them, "PRIMAL ORB!"

Rika acted quickly, swiping her go to card, "Digimodify! Speed Boost Activate!"

Kyubimon took off faster than before but the two balls of energy closed in. Just as they were about to strike, she turned to get out of their way. A clean get away. At least until the balls turned and chased after them. Makuramon cackled, "Silly human! You can't outrun my Primal Orbs! They'll pursue you no matter where you go! Only I can dispel them!"

"Is that a fact?" Rika asked, patting her partner, "Kyubimon! Turn and heads towards the monkey!"

"What? Why!?" Kyubimon asked. Rika pointed at the balls of light closing in and said, "These things are just going to follow us wherever, right? So let's go return the gift."

"I see. Hang on," Kyubimon slowed and cornered sharply, kicking off with so much force that she and Ryo had to pull her fur tight to not get thrown off. During that sharp turn, the energy balls just narrowly missed them. But that did nothing to slow their pursuit as they continued coming after them. Makuramon cackled in delight to see them coming his way, "Oh good! Running to face your death! Come and get me then! FACE ME!"

Kyubimon continued running at the monkey who stood there with a great big smile on his face, "That's right! Face me! Fight me!"

The smile vanished as she leapt into the air just in front of him, leaping over the monkey's head and landing just behind him. He turned around and started jumping up and down in anger, "Are you running from me! Get back here dammit! I demand you come back, cowards! Fight me!"

He was so busy screaming that he didn't notice his balls of energy creeping up on him until one struck his tail and sent a jolt of fiery pain through his body, "AAAAAHHH! Did you just use my own attacks against me!? ME!? I'M THE CLEVER ONE YOU ILL BEHAVED CHILDREN! NOW I'M MAD!"

"You weren't angry before?" Ryo called back, infuriating the monkey more.

"Gargo Pellets!"

"Fist of the Beast King!"

A barrage of gun fire erupted out of the water and peppered the monkey in the side, followed by a ball of fire striking him in the face. The blast blew him into a nearby tree with enough force to break it in half, creating a thunderous crack. Gargomon and Leomon charged straight out of the water, followed by Henry and Juri. Kyubimon turned on her heels to rejoin them, "Guys!"

"Friends of yours?" Ryo asked, climbing off her partner and helping her down. Rika nodded, "Something like that. Where were you guys?"

Henry waved it off, "Long story. There's a house under the lake. Takato said there was trouble, so we brought back up."

"Back up?" Rika stammered, suddenly watching ten little digimon scurry out of the water behind them: Tentomon, Palmon, Gabumon, Gatomon, Biyomon, Gomamon, Wormmon, Veemon, Hawkmon, and Armadillomon. Even she knew who they were: the partners of the digidestined. And her parents' partners were just a few feet in front of her. Tentomon and Palmon - both standing side by side and ready to help. But there was one missing. And it took a few seconds for her to know why. A soft light appeared in the water, growing in size until a large splash of water broke the surface and two new digimon emerged. An angel in white and purple regalia, and Guilmon with white wings sprouting from his back.

"They certainly know how to make an entrance," a blonde haired man said as he emerged from the water with his hands in his pockets, "So you guys must be the rest of the team? I'm Takeru. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Takeru. TK was a few feet from her. Takato appeared just behind him, gasping for breath as he said, "Sorry about that...I'm a little out of breath. I need to exercise this body more."

Makuramon was unimpressed, "Summon all the help you want! It won't change a thing! We are Devas! We don't lose to lesser life forms!"

"Haven't heard that speech before. The Deva part is new," TK remarked, helping Takato out of the water and gesturing at the monkey, "That him?"

"Yep," Takato nodded, "That's the monkey who kidnapped our friend."

"YOU WILL ADDRESS ME AS LORD MAKURAMON!" the monkey seethed angrily, fuming as he continued jumping up and down. TK raised an eyebrow, "I don't see a lord, just a child throwing a tantrum."

"DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM!?"

"Do I look like I care?" he fired back, "Look, maybe this confusion is because you don't know who we are. I'm TK, a digidestined, and these are my friends' partners."

Makuramon's anger reached a tipping point and if it were possible for anger to go full circle back to calm, then it certainly did. Makuramon raised his hat and bowed, "Its a pleasure to make your acquaintance but I'm afraid I have other duties to attend to so if you would politely stand aside while I deal with these pests."

"Not going to happen," TK affirmed. Makuramon bore his teeth and assumed a running stance, "So be it. Die!"

He charged at them, moving faster than he was before. It seemed calming down had made him think more clearly and act more deliberately than when he was mad. The rookie digimon all dove out of his way, leaving Gargomon to take the full force of a hit to the face and get kicked back. Acting purely on instinct, Juri and Henry started swiping cars to give their partner's an advantage in the fight. TK minded his distance, cheering MagnaAngemon on as he joined the fight against the large dragon digimon.

For all his pride as a warrior, Leomon was unable to keep up with a digimon like Makuramon and was quickly kicked into the lake for his efforts. This left Kyubimon to engage him in a cat and mouse game where she tried to mind her distance until an opening presented itself. All the while, the little digimon complained, "I hate not being able to do anything! I wish our partners were here!"

"We don't need to digivolve to put up a fight! Follow me! Marching Fishes!" Gomamon cried out, summoning a horde of fish to dive out of the lake and swarm Makuramon. He handily knocked the fish back into the water but it left him open for Kyubimon to attack him from behind. She tackled him straight into the water, prompting Tentomon to attack, "Super shocker!"

The electrical sparks hit the water and electrified the monkey digimon who screamed out in agony as he convulsed. But through sheer force of will, the digimon forced himself to move out of the water which prompted every digimon to combine their ranged attacks to send him back in.

"Spiral Twister!"

"Feather Boomerang!"

"Fist of the Beast King!"

"Silk Thread!"

"Blue Blaster!"

"Gargo Pellets!"

The attacks hit their mark and sent him back into the water to convulse. It was just as well as another blow from above caught their attention. In the sky above, MagnaAngemon used his sword and Cyberdramon used his claws to rend the dragon Deva to shreds - leaving his pieces to fall into the water before dissipating. There was a small pause followed by small cheers from their party as the dragon was gone.

But that peace didn't last as Cyberdramon turned on MagnaAngemon and Guilmon. On seeing this, Ryo called out, "Don't hurt him! Lure Cyberdramon back over to me! I can try to get him under control!"

"Not sure he's up for that idea," Takato noted as Cyberdramon completely ignored Guilmon's attempts to lure him down while MagnaAngemon was caught in a mid air duel. Any time the angel tried descending, Cyberdramon would claw into him and pull him back up out of his partner's reach. And while that was happening, Makuramon was forcing himself back out of the water through sheer force of will, "I will not he made a fool of! You will bow before me and show me the respect due my station!"

"The more you talk like that, the more they're going to hurt you," Takato shouted at the monkey before returning his attention to the fight above. Rika watched the three digimon as they danced in their lethal aerial ballet, amazed at watching the partner of a digidestined in action. Since retreat was not an option, MagnaAngemon resorted to trying to incapacitate Cyberdramon with the blunt end of his sword while Guilmon took pot shots. Oddly, neither Takato nor TK seemed alarmed by their partner's danger. Instead, they calmly provided commentary as Takato asked, "Think they've got this?"

"Nope. I was waiting on you. Figured you had a plan or something, Tamer."

"I did. Not sure if it'll work though. They're really moving fast," Takato gestured at the impossible maneuvers both sides were pulling. TK laughed, "Yeah, I suppose. Still, it'll probably turn out alright. That's what you used to say, right? Something like, do what comes natural and destiny will sort itself out?"

"You're right. Here goes nothing. Guilmon, grab on to Cyberdramon!" Takato shouted, giving his partner away to an unsuspecting Cyberdramon who was sure to be on his guard now. Even though he had a sword carrying angel to his front, Cyberdramon was careful to keep an eye on MagnaAngemon. It took a minute longer for an opening to present itself but when it did, Guilmon latched onto his back and sank his teeth on to his shoulder.

"DigiModify! Digivolution Activate!" Takato cried out, swiping a blue card through his deck. In a flash, Guilmon digivolved to Growlmon while still attached to Cyberdramon. With all the extra weight, Cyberdramon lost his balance and quickly plummeted to the ground. They crashed into the shore beside them, prompting Ryo to run out and use his digivice to restrain Cyberdramon with a whip of light. Not that he needed to since the digimon was under the weight of a large Growlmon now. Takato clapped his hands in applause, "Good job. Now for Makuramon! This is your last warning! Let's talk this out before one of does something the other will regret."

"Oh, we're well past that now," Makuramon hissed, still convulsing in the water, "I am a Deva!"

"And I'm a Guardian of Destiny. Get over yourself," Takato snapped back. Makuramon became enraged and created two more balls of energy in his hand. He raised them over his head and growled, "VERMIN! I'LL KILL YOU ALL IF I HAVE TO! NOTHING WILL STOP ME NOW!"

Just as he was about to use them, MagnaAngemon appeared behind him and used his sword to stab him in the back. The monkey fizzled for a second, dropping energy balls and looking down at the sword. Rika felt her blood run cold in shock, as MagnaAngemon casually raised the monkey into the air with his sword before throwing him off with a casual throw. The monkey crashed into the water and sank beneath the waves.

Sure Makuramon had been antagonizing them, but he wasn't evil or a danger to their world. And for a digidestined, that seemed especially cold blooded. Rika turned to TK in shock to see he was oddly calm about the whole thing. However, for all the trouble the monkey caused - everyone seemed calm about the death. Even Gomamon who'd objected to cold blooded murder in the past was curiously silent. Takato was the only one getting worked up about it, "What the hell TK?"

"It was obvious he wasn't going to stop. Besides, you weren't complaining a second ago with the other digimon," TK pointed out. Takato looked into the water where the lifeless digimon began to dissipate to data, eyes filled with shame, "It does always end like this, doesn't it? Story of my lives."

He was so distracted, he didn't notice Ryo marching up to him from behind with his fist raised. Bet the time he did notice, Ryo had sucker punched him in the face and knocked him to the ground, "TAKE THIS!"

"Ow! What!?" Takato cried out, massaging his cheek from the ground. He looked up at his attacker with confused eyes, "What was that for? Who are you?"

"It's Ryo, asshole!" he growled, "Forget me? I've been trapped her for twenty years because of you!"

Takato's eyes looked back and forth, as if he were trying to remember, "Ryo. Ryo. Wait, I think I remember something. RYO!? Nope, lost it."

"Then let me help you remember!" Ryo raised his fist again and struck him across the face. Rika thought he should've gone for one more.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Ryo and Tamer's reunion went about as well as anyone could expect. Will things escalate or will they be able to talk things out? Who are we kidding? Everyone has decked Tamer at least once! Find out what happens next time in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out in two weeks on Friday October 25th at 5 PM CDT. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. ANd hey, don't forget to follow/favorite the story to show support and keep up with all the latest updates! That's all I have for now, let's look at previews for the next chapter!

 _Gatomon cheered, "Hit him one more time for me!"_

 _Before Ryo could wind up another punch, Takato sat up and began massaging his sore cheek, "Will you stop hitting me!? Whatever it is I did, I am sorry. I'm sorry I forgot what it was too. Just stop hitting me!"_

 _Ryo contemplated the plea for a moment before taking another swing anyway, "No."_

 _Rika couldn't deny it was cathartic to watch him get his butt handed to him so many times in a row. Actually, watching made her want to join in and get her chance to deck him for all the frustration he'd caused: the death of her grandmother, withholding who he was, living another person's life, trapping Ryo in the Digital World for what he said was twenty years. But that same thought was countered by all the times he'd helped her: saving Renamon from the Dokugumon's web, encouraging her to continue being partners with Renamon, working together to stop the Devas. Some part of her considered that for all the annoyance, frustration, and misdirection he'd caused - he was just trying to be helpful._

 _But she still let Ryo get in one more hit before trying to pull him off, "Stop it Ryo!"_


	29. Remember Me?

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 29: Remember Me?**

Gatomon cheered, "Hit him one more time for me!"

Before Ryo could wind up another punch, Takato sat up and began massaging his sore cheek, "Will you stop hitting me!? Whatever it is I did, I am sorry. I'm sorry I forgot what it was too. Just stop hitting me!"

Ryo contemplated the plea for a moment before taking another swing anyway, "No."

Rika couldn't deny it was cathartic to watch Takato get his butt handed to him so many times in a row. Actually, watching made her want to join in and get her chance to deck him for all the frustration he'd caused: the death of her grandmother, withholding who he was, living another person's life, trapping Ryo in the Digital World for what he said was twenty years, being a general nuisance during this whole ordeal, among other things. But that same thought was countered by all the times he'd helped her: saving Renamon from the Dokugumon's web, encouraging her to continue being partners with Renamon, working together to stop the Devas. Some part of her considered that for all the annoyance, frustration, and misdirection he'd caused - he was just trying to be helpful.

But she still let Ryo get in one more hit before trying to pull him off, "Stop it Ryo!"

"He's the reason I was stuck in the Digital World for twenty years! Twenty years, Rika! Do you have any idea what that's like?" Ryo growled, pushing her back in an uncharacteristic show of anger towards her. She stepped back just as Guilmon leapt in front of him, "Leave him alone! He didn't do anything to you!"

"Oh yeah? Then where's my first partner!? WHERE'S VEEMON!?" Ryo growled, angrily. Rika paused, looking from him to Takato in confusion. His partner was Cyberdramon, right? Who was Veemon? The fact that Takato was hesitating wasn't helping things. Then she recalled one of the original digidestined had a Veemon partner and glanced his way. The Veemon himself noticed the others staring at him and he raised up his hands, "Don't look at me, I don't know anything. I've never sheen thish guy before."

Ryo agreed, "You could be any Veemon. Where's my partner?"

Takato pushed himself up, dusting himself off and throwing up his hands in preparation for another punch, "Look, I don't know anything about Veemon. I'm sorry. Believe me, this is as frustrating for me as it is for you. My memories are still a little fuzzy about the past but whatever he...I did in the past, I'm really sorry."

"Don't give me that! You're a liar, Tamer! The biggest liar there is!" Ryo snapped. It was then that Kazu, Kenta, and Guardromon decided to join them, "What's going on?"

"It's about time you idiots did literally anything," Rika frowned, "Thanks for the hand with the Devas."

"Kazu wanted to make an entrance when Guardromon jumped in," Kenta explained, to Kazu's frustration. He stammered out his defense, "I did not! I was assessing the situation and looking for the right time to help out. Y'know, catch them by surprise."

"Whatever you say," Rika started to ignore him as he added to whatever passed in his mind for a defense, returning again to Ryo, "My first partner? Veemon? The guy who traveled with us when we went off to 'save the Digital World'? Until you threw me in that black hole!"

"You did what?" Juri gasped.

Once again, Takato threw up his hands, "Look, I said I was sorry. I was a jerk. I'm trying to be better. What can I do to make it up to you?"

Ryo's expression became even angrier, "Make it up to me? I've spent the last twenty years of my life here! THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO MAKE THIS UP TO ME! CYBERDRAMON!"

Right on cue, Cyberdramon dove down and slammed into the ground between the two boys. It snarled, turning to Takato angrily just as Guilmon ran in front of him, both digimon spreading their wings and snarling. There was something odd about the juxtaposition there - Guilmon with his white angel wings from Takato's digimodify and Cyberdramon with his natural red dragon wings. Both digimon bore their teeth, daring the other to attack first while Takato tried to reason for peace. Rika pulled on Ryo's sleeve, hoping to at least snap some sense into him, "Ryo! Are you completely insane!? What do you think you're doing?"

"I'VE HAD TWENTY YEARS TO THINK ABOUT WHAT I'M DOING," Ryo raised his voice again in anger, "CYBERDRAMON! KILL!"

Cyberdramon roared and charged straight at Takato, until Guilmon leapt in his way to stop him. The two digimon collided, but Guilmon was pushed back with ease. Acting quickly, Takato slid several cards through his digivice in rapid succession, "Digimodify! Speed Boost Activate! Strength Boost Activate! WarGreymon's Shield Activate!"

A bright orange shield appeared in Guilmon's left arm and he swung it so that it struck Cyberdramon on the head. The digimon flew aside, holding the side of its head and hissing at the surprise attack. Ryo acted quickly and started swiping cards of his own, "Digimodify! Strength Boost Activate! Speed Boost Activate! MetalGarurumon's Cannon Activate!"

A cannon appeared over Cyberdramon's shoulder which he trained on Guilmon. Guilmon raised his shield just as Cyberdramon fired, and they were all blinded by a brilliant bright light. When they could see again, Guilmon sat at the bottom of a crater in the sand under WarGreymon's shield. By some miracle, he'd survived under the shield of the mega level digimon. Both Kazu and Kenta cheered excitedly, until Henry slapped them across the back of the head, "Guys! They're trying to kill each other!"

"I'm not trying to kill anyone!" Takato protested and ducking as Ryo took a swing at him. Before Ryo could take another swing, Takato scrambled away and started running, "I said I'm sorry!"

"You're not sorry yet! But you will be!" Ryo shouted, stopping only when Guilmon threw the shield in front of him to stop the boy in his tracks, "Leave Takatomon alone!"

"Ryo! Calm down!" Rika pleaded to no avail, forced to watch in stunned awe as Ryo let himself become swallowed in his own anger. It was just like in the book, just like with Tamer and SkullGreymon. Unfortunately, Cyberdramon was too overrun with bloodlust to even think of calming his partner down. Ironically, it was because of Ryo's anger that Cyberdramon was so uncontrollable. Then it occurred to her that all of Cyberdramon's uncontrollable behavior until this point was because of Ryo's anger. His lent up aggression. Twenty years of hate nursed for this exact moment.

Cyberdramon charged Guilmon who raised up the shield to protect himself, giving Ryo the opening he needed to chase after Takato again. As the fight played out, Juri called out, "Shouldn't we do something, Leomon?"

"Normally, I wouldn't hesitated to jump into aid other. But I'm not getting in that," Leomon crossed his arms, gesturing at the two digimon, "Those are mega level weapons. One hit from those and-"

Leomon made a cutting gesture across his neck and Juri shook. Leomon nodded, "It would take a If those two aren't careful, they'll blow the whole Digital World apart."

"That's all the more reason to actually get in there and do something!" Henry panicked.

"At least then, we won't have to worry about whatever had the Devas so freaked out," Gargomon added comically, almost amused by the fighting. Henry was too busy going through his cards to think things through properly, "I'd have you shoot, but that might just make Cyberdramon drag you into the fight. Besides, you might hit Guilmon."

"So what? I just sit here and do nothing?" Gargomon asked.

She looked over at Takeru and asked, "Can't you do something?"

"Me? Don't be silly. A man my age can't fight a kid. There's no scenario where that looks good. Think about it. I win? I just beat up a kid. I lose? I got beat up by a kid," he answered nonchalantly.

"I meant separate them before they hurt each other!" Rika groaned, unable to believe that such a man could be so difficult and annoying. If she didn't know any better, she would've assumed this was the Digimon Tamer from the way he was acting. Takeru shrugged at the idea, gesturing at his partner, "Yeah, I guess. MagnaAngemon!"

"On it," the angel answered, slowly gliding towards the two boys until he was between them. He lifted them both up by the collars of their shirts - and for the first time, both boys looked small. But that didn't stop Ryo from still trying to get his hands on Takato. MagnaAngemon sighed, "Calm down, kid. If I wanted to, I could end this already. So calm down."

"I'll calm down when he's paid!" Ryo shouted at the top of his lungs, flailing wildly as he swung his arms to no avail. Annoyed that the boy seemed determined to ignore him, Takeru waltzed over and flicked the boy's forehead with his finger, "Oy, calm down. How about, instead of trying to hurt Tamer, you take a couple of minutes to call off your partner?"

He pointed out Cyberdramon chasing after Guilmon, the two digimon running around the lake as Cyberdramon continued to shoot while Guilmon used the shield to block the attack. Ryo clicked his tongue angrily and growled back. Takeru sighed, "Well, this is going nowhere."

Realizing that no one was going to do anything, Kazu nudged Guardromon forward, "Alright! Now's our time to shine! Let's get in there and separate them!"

"Query: Are you sure? Observation: At our current power levels, there is a one percent chance of success and ninety-five percent chance of defeat," Guardromon protested. Kazu raised up his fists and punched the air, "Don't sweat it! Takato'll never admit it but I'm twice the card player he ever was! I'll give you all the power ups you need to take Cyberdramon on! Just you watch! Digimodify! Angemon's Wings Activate! Power Boost Activate! Machinedramon's Cannon Activate!"

Two large cannons and six cannons sprouted on Guardromon's back, and the machine's attitude changed from surprise to joy, "I see! This is some good power! I can feel it! Okay, I'll follow your direction, Kazu!"

"Then take one more upgrade! Get in there and separate the two! Once you've got clean shot, hit Cyberdramon in the face!" Kazu commanded, swiping another card, "DigiModify! Speed Boost Activate!"

"GUARDROMON GO! GO! GO!" The mechanical digimon roared, taking off like he had a jet engine on his back. He flew straight at Cyberdramon, who was too busy chasing Guilmon to notice him until it was too late. Cyberdramon turned in time to get clothes lined by Guardromon's arm and dragged straight into the air. Cyberdramon took Machinedramon's cannon and pressed it against Guardromon's head just as Guardromon raised him to be right in front of the cannons. Just as the two fired, Rika heard Kazu shout, "DigiModify! Defense Boost Activate!"

The two digimon fired and two beams of light fired off in different directions. Then the lights faded as the digimon fell from the sky until they hit the ground on the opposite side of the lake. Rika turned to Kazu, unable to believe he'd sent his partner against a tougher opponent like that. However, she noticed him quietly clenching his fist and smiling.

But it made sense. He had his partner max out his defense stat to take the hit. The plan was to get Cyberdramon to stand still long enough for Guardromon to take his shot. Both attacks would've been devastating. But Guardromon would survive it better than Cyberdramon could. She turned to Kyubimon and said, "Come on! Let's go see if they're alright!"

"Hop on," she lowered her head for Rika, and galloped off as the others tried to keep up.

* * *

Beelzemon rode his motorcycle through the desert, desperate for something - anything - to test his new strength on. He'd run down everything he'd come across so far with little effort - Infermon, Chrysalimon, SkullMeramon, Kuwagamon. Digimon he'd known to be strong but were nothing compared to his new level of strength. And it was all so…dissatisfying. He wanted a challenge. He needed a challenge.

It was infuriating! All this power and no place to use it. What was the point? At least, that was what he thought until he saw a beam of light fly past over head into the distance. He gripped the brake and adjusted the motorcycle as it slid to a stop. He traced the beam of light to its origin just as it dissipated. At the very least, he had a direction. Whatever fired the beam of light into the distance was strong. Definitely strong enough for him to have a proper challenge. And he couldn't wait. He pulled the throttle and went after it.

* * *

Kyubimon slid to a stop beside Guardromon to see the digimon pushing himself back up, struggling to collect himself. By some miracle, the digimon had survived a point blank shot to the face despite being a champion. And then there was the other digimon...a little purple dinosaur with a yellow diamond on his head. If she had to guess, this digimon was Cyberdramon in a weaker form. But she'd never seen this digimon before. And the digimon was out cold.

Guilmon descended from above, landing beside the little dinosaur and sniffing him. Rika rolled her eyes and turned to Guardromon, "Are you okay?"

Guardromon nodded, "Yes. Just shaken. I felt something when I pulled the trigger; a burst of energy that protected me."

She had to hand it to Kazu, now that she thought about it. He may have been a loud mouthed idiot but he knew what he was doing when it counted. Boosting Guardromon's defense at the last second was a good way to make sure he could tank the attack without being defeated. Guardromon turned over to the little digimon, "How is Cyberdramon? No, wait...Monodramon. He's a rookie now, I see."

"Monodramon?" Rika looked down at the unconscious rookie. Guilmon continued to sniff the little digimon, "Is he dead? He doesn't smell dead. Maybe he's hungry?"

"He was just trying to kill you a few seconds ago," she pointed out to the red idiot, who just sniffed him, "He's not any more."

There was no way this digimon could be so simple minded. Just as she sat up, she saw a flash of light behind her and turned to see the others standing there. She blinked in disbelief, "When did you guys get here?"

Takato raised his busted old digivice, "Opened a gate. Took about a minute. Was about to say something but you ran off before I could. Not to mention the fact that Ryo was still trying to sock me."

She looked past him to see Takeru holding Ryo still. The boy had calmed down now, but he still occasionally resisted by trying to break out of his grip. Takato hurried over to Guardromon with Kazu, helping the champion digimon up, "Are you alright?"

"Yes," Guardromon nodded, "It's good to see you're safe as well, Tamer."

"You did awesome! You're the mon, man," Kazu added with a cheer. As they helped the digimon up, Takato asked, "So Kazu, when did you get a partner? And where did he come from?"

"Tamer...it's me," Guardromon began, somewhat dejected, "Andromon."

A beat of silence followed as Takato stared at the digimon quietly until he pointed in disbelief. Even Takeru was taken aback, "What!?"

"Yeah dude! We got separated after that beam of light thing," Kazu began, "He got carried down stream by a river. I was trying to fix him when we found him again, so I pulled that digivice out of him! That was when it changed into this digivice I got! Now he's my partner! How cool is that?"

"Okay, that's a lot to process right there. Let me start with this question: WHAT!?" Takato repeated still staring in disbelief at the digimon in front of him. Guardromon nodded to confirm what Kazu had said, "He's correct. I am his partner now. I am just as surprised as you."

"What?" Takato stared in disbelief, shaking his head, "That can't be right. They don't...do that. That's not how...this has got to be a mistake."

Kazu puffed up his chest and proudly pointed his thumb at himself, "No mistake, dude! I'm a digidestined just like you guys! Better get used to it."

"Congratulations, Kazu," Juri said excitedly, clapping her hands together while Gargomon nodded, "It's a good thing someone with a big brain is partnered with someone without one. They balance each other out."

"Be nice," Henry sighed, patting his partner, "Still, congrats, Kazu."

"The circle of partners is getting bigger," Leomon added, crossing his arms. Gatomon turned on the Takato, "Speaking of partners, when do we get to go back to the human world?"

Takato gestured at Takeru, "Don't ask me. I didn't have anything to do with this. Ask him."

Takato walked off to speak with Ryo, leaving Rika wondering just what she'd missed. She leaned in to Juri, "Hey, what did we miss exactly?"

"We've got a lot to fill you in on," Juri sighed, nodding at Ryo, "And it looks like you guys have a lot to fill us in on. Who's he? I mean, I get his name is Ryo, but who is Ryo? And why does he hate Taka…Tamer so much?"

"That's a very long story" Rika answered shyly, realizing the last few days had probably been very eventful for both of them. However, she hung on the way Juri hesitated to call him Takato. That both bothered and annoyed her - if Takato said or did something, Rika was going to make sure he got comeuppance for it.

* * *

Ryo scowled as Takato stepped in front of him, desperately wanting to deck him but still unable to get out of Takeru's hold. Takato extended his hand out for a hand shake, "I will make this right, Ryo. I am sorry. Friends?"

"No, we're not," he swatted the hand away, "You have no idea what it was like for me after we got separated! I was lost! I thought Ken or you would come looking for me! But you never did! Neither of you did! I've spent the last twenty years with a crazy digimon partner whose idea of a good time is to attack everything he sees and maul it to death! And that's on a good day! Do you have any idea what that's like?'

"Yeah, I really do," Takato answered sheepishly. Ryo rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I'm sure you do. Here's an idea: how about instead of hiding behind your partner, you let me finish hitting you with my fist!"

He felt Takeru's grip on his shoulder tighten, but the man's face remained reassuring. Then Ryo added, "I heard a lot of stories while I was trapped here. A lot of digimon thought I was you for some reason. I thought it was obvious I wasn't. But a lot of them kept insisting for some damn reason."

"Yeah, that's my fault," Takato answered apologetically, "As you can tell: new face, new personality, new everything. How did you know, though?"

"Rika told me," he thumbed at her, "Before...all this...she was a friend of mine. And you better believe it was a relief to see her."

Takato stared at him in disbelief, his gaze shifting between Ryo and Rika. After a moment, he chuckled, "Well, that explains a lot. Only someone as grumpy as her could be friends with her."

That angered Ryo further and he snapped, "I've never known her to be grumpy. Just quiet. If she's grumpy at anyone, it's probably you. I bet you got her involved in all this."

"Would you believe I didn't? I literally have nothing to do with whatever's going on. It's all been reactionary at this point," Takato answered. Now Ryo knew that was a lie, "And why should I believe a word you say? You threw me in the black hole!"

"I did?" Takato repeated. Takeru tightened his grip so much that he could feel the man's hands digging into his shoulder, "Calm down. Don't let your anger get the better of you."

Ryo wasn't in a talking mood and snapped back, "And why shouldn't I? I've been stuck here! For twenty years! And the guy who did it is right in front of me! Give me one reason why I shouldn't."

Takeru stared at him quietly before flicking his forehead, "Look kiddo, throwing a tantrum isn't going to impress me. So calm down and listen because in case you haven't figured it out yet in your twenty years: your digivice connects you to your partner. It turns your emotions, your feelings into energy. That anger, that rage you're feeling, it's fueling your partner. If your partner turned into a mindless monster, it's only because of how strong your own hate was."

"And how would you know that?" Ryo hissed angrily at the adult man, refusing to believe a word he was saying. Damn his smile was so infuriating. Especially when he answered, "Because I've seen what that kind of anger does to a digimon before. If you think your anger was tough, you should've seen what happened to Agumon because of The Tamer."

"What? What are you?" Takato paused for a moment before hanging his head. He kicked the dirt, "Oh right. How did I forget that? Wow…can we not talk about that? It was a very bad day. For all of us!"

Takeru smiled, "Tamer had so much anger, that his partner turned into a monster that ripped apart a Mega level digimon and turned an army of Champions to data in one it hit. It took every one of us back in the day just to restrain it. And even then, it took Tamer finally calming down for it to go away. Besides, what has being mad at Tamer done for you? Nothing I bet. So take it from me: let it go."

Ryo looked from the unconscious purple dinosaur who was presumably Cyberdramon not long ago, then back to Tamer. It was hard for his blood to not start boiling at the sight of him. Then again, maybe the man had a point. Being mad hadn't done him much good up until this point. He took a deep breath to calm himself down before agreeing, "Fine."

It took another moment for Takeru to release him. Ryo quickly adjusted his clothes and Takato extended his hand again, "Friends?"

"Don't," Ryo answered quickly, slapping it away. Takato frowned, "But I thought-"

He cut the boy off before he could get a word in edge wise, "I've calmed down. That doesn't mean I've forgiven you. For anything you did. So don't push it."

Takato raised up his hands in surrender, stepping aside so that he could go join Rika. As he walked away, he heard Takato ask, "Was I like that? I vaguely remember the last me being very angry all the time."

"Towards the beginning, yeah," Takeru answered, "If it makes you feel better at all, you really did mellow out towards the end. The new you is kind of timid though. I'm not sure how I feel about that."

"Is it? I'm trying to be kind," Takato countered. He didn't hear the rest as he rejoined Rika just as she finished explaining what they did up to this point, "-and that's when those two showed up."

"That's probably around the time Calumon landed in the house," the other girl with the green dress answered. He stopped just short of the group, "What did I miss?"

He noted Rika minding her distance before she answered, "We're just catching up. Ryo, this is the rest of our group: That's Juri, her partner Leomon, that's Gargomon and his partner Henry."

"Hello," Juri said with a casual wave. Henry's reaction was more excited, "Ryo? As in the Digimon King? It's a pleasure to meet you."

He didn't geek out as much as Kazu or Kenta, but he did smile happily. Ryo was grateful for that and nodded in his direction, "Same."

Gargomon pointed at him with his gun arm and asked, "So, what's your deal? Some kind of hero? I keep hearing you be called the Digimon King."

"Which is odd since the Digital World doesn't need two kings," Leomon remarked quietly.

"I'll tell you later," Henry patted his partner's head, "So should we go get Shibumi? He and Calumon are still under the lake."

Ryo recalled Rika saying they were looking for a digimon named Calumon when he first found them again. But he didn't know anything about a Shibumi. Who the hell was that? Were there more people he needed to know about? Before he could ask who they were, he heard Monodramon make a noise and sit up. His partner, the little ball of anger who'd been nothing but a pain to him since he first met him. The digimon stirred, opening one eye and then the other. He seemed so peaceful. For a moment, he was sure Takeru was telling the truth. Maybe all of Cyberdramon's behavior was because of all the pent up anger and hatred he had in himself.

And he still hasn't let any of it go.

Monodramon hissed and took a swipe at him. He narrowly avoided getting his face scratched and ducked out of the attack Monodramon scrambled to his feet and presented every flaw he had on his body, "Come and get me!"

Unfortunately for the rookie, he was tackled by every other rookie digimon there and held down.

"Calm down there, partner! We don't wanna hurt ya!"

"Yeah, sho shtop trying to hurt ush!"

"Seriously! You can stop trying to scratch our eyes!"

"Don't kill us!"

"As my partner would say, CHILL OUT!"

Monodramon paused, staring at Gabumon angrily before remarking, "How am I supposed to chill out? Are you going to put me on ice? Is that your plan?"

"What? No! We just want you to stop trying to attack us!" Gabumon said defensively. After a moment, Monodramon stopped struggling and relaxed. The other digimon cautiously let Monodramon go, making sure he wasn't going to attack before letting him stand on his own. He seemed calm for now but the others still minded their distance. Monodramon cautiously asked, "So why were you telling me to chill out?"

Gargomon nonchalantly answered, "It's a figure of speech. It means Moumantai."

"What's Moumantai?" Monodramon raised an eyebrow, "I'm confused. And annoyed. And it's making me angry."

"Don't make us tackle you again," Palmon warned. Ryo was perplexed by his partner's calm, trying to recall a time he'd ever...acted like this but nothing came to mind. It was like looking at a whole new digimon. And he had no idea how to react to it. And it didn't help that his partner stopped to look at him. This was a whole new experience for both of them. He approached his partner with an extended hand, "Hi...Monodramon."

"The hell are you doing Ryo?" the digimon growled, swatting his hand away. It looked like he was still a little angry. Maybe that was from all his pent up aggression leaking through to his partner. He wanted to say more but couldn't find the words he needed to say. And then Tamer walked past them with his digivice out, "If we're all done, it's about time we went to go see Calumon. If you guys don't mind-"

"I hate this part," Armadillomon sighed.

"-Digiport OPEN!"

There was another flash of light and Ryo felt himself falling.

* * *

Calumon sat on the table munching on the left over toast and bacon that the others so haphazardly abandoned when Takato started shouting about intruders. He said not to worry and promised to take care of it, before running off with everyone except for the funny lights and the guy named Shibumi. He was a funny guy, spending most of his time sleeping instead of doing anything fun. The funny lights were a lot more interesting, flying around playfully and giggling the whole time. He was envious of that and wished he was ably to fly. It would've made getting away from all the crazy digimon trying to attack him a lot easier.

Then, without warning, a bright flash of light caused everyone to reappear on the dining room floor in pain. The loud crash and everyone's cries of pain jolted Shibumi awake, looking up in a daze as he asked, "What is all this?"

Rika was the first one up, "Why do we always fall when that happens?"

"I don't know, it never did that before," Takato explained, helping everyone get up and apologizing as loudly as he could. The one called Takeru added, "What are you talking about? We always end up falling on the ground!"

"Then you've been doing it wrong!" Takato shot back, only to be met with Gomamon's remark, "Like you just did?"

Calumon jumped up excitedly, "That was a really cool trick! Can you do that again! It was a lot of fun! I want to do it!"

"No, you really don't," Kenta whined, massaging his back and adjusting his glasses. He groaned when he saw the frame bent and did his best to push them back into shape, "Can we get a little warning before we do that again?"

"I said sorry. This usually isn't how it happens," Takato apologized again, heading over to the table and taking a big bite out of a slice of bread. Shibumi smiled at the sight of them, "I'm glad to see that you all made it back okay. I guess this means that the trespassers left?"

"More like we kicked their asses!" Kazu cheered excitedly until Rika scowled, "You didn't do anything! You just sat there while the rest of us did the work!"

"Hey! I helped with Cyberdramon!" Kazu protested, to which Rika remarked, "Only after we got rid of the Devas. So thanks for jumping in after we didn't need you. Kazu groaned and Shibumi smiled at them, "I see you guys had fun. Hello to you newcomers. My name is Gorou Mizuno but you can call me Shibumi."

"Hi, Shibumi! You can call me Kazu! This is my partner Guardromon! That over there is Kenta. The ball of sunshine over there is Rika and the fox is Renamon. And that cool dude is Ryo, and his awesome partner Monodramon!"

Shibumi stared at the newcomers with a smile, chuckling as Rika slapped Kazu for his sunshine comment and remarked, "It's a real pleasure to-"

Calumon lost interest in whatever they were saying, instead opting to sit down and eat some more of the delicious breakfast before it went bad. His eating inspired some of the other digimon to join him, and he happily went about offering food to the others, passing out different yummy treats and excitedly wondering what they were going to do next.

But for now, this was bliss. Seeing everyone sitting together like this, happily spending time with each other. No fighting. No one trying to kill each other. He knew it wouldn't last. He just wished it would last as long as possible. But it seemed as long as possible would only be a couple of minutes since he was pulled from his blissful thoughts when he heard his name.

"-Calumon to the sovereigns and hopefully talk this whole mess out before any more people try to kill each other," Takato said. He could feel all eyes on him again which he'd learned to associate with bad things about to happen. He looked up at them with big eyes, wondering if there'd ever be an end to the fighting.

There was a new kid with them, one he hadn't noticed before. The new kid leaned in and asked, "So where are we supposed to find these Sovereigns? Digital World's a big place and in all the years I've been stuck here, I've never run into any sovereigns."

"Well there's a big glowing ball of light that wasn't there last time we were here. I was thinking that would be a good place to start," Takato said cheerily, "At least before we all got separated."

Then Kenta jumped in, "Hang on. If you can do that Digiport thing to teleport us anywhere, why didn't you just teleport us straight to the light?"

"I don't like going somewhere without knowing where we'll end up! For all we know there's a million broken glass syringes over there. Or maybe a bunch of hungry digimon. Or teachers ready to give us homework," Takato warned to a skeptical group. Rika snarkily asked, "In the Digital World?"

"Anything's possible at this point," Takato sighed, "So you better believe we're walking there. It'll take longer, but we'll at least be far away if there's any danger. We'll see it coming and be able to do something about it."

Palmon jumped up, "Then you'd better believe we're coming too!"

"That's right! If there's anything we can do to help, you better believe we want in," Gabumon added.

"Alright! We're teaming up with the digidestined's partners!" Kazu said excitedly. Kenta jumped up and down with him, "This is so cool! Right, Rika?"

"Whatever," she seemed as cold as always. Then Takato cried out, "No!"

"What gives?" Tentomon asked

"Yeah! We want to help too! When can we shee the othersh!?" Veemon asked quietly. Takato frowned, "I meant you can't come with us. Without your partners, you'd only slow us down. And it'll be easier for our partners to protect us if it's just us."

"Oh come on! We've fought worse before," Biyomon protested, "And we can all go to Mega!"

"With your partners," Takato added, pausing for a moment, "Wait, since when could you digivolve to Mega? No, never mind that. The point I'm trying to make is that whatever we're up against has the Sovereigns scared. And all of you at your strongest could barely handle a digimon that a single Sovereign took out in one hit. Whatever has them scared...could be the cause of all the weird stuff going on. And if you want to see your partners again, you'll stay here. You'll see the others again. I promise that."

The digidestined stared at him quietly before Terriermon added, "You've been making a lot of promises lately. Better be careful that you don't break any on accident."

"Or on purpose," Gatomon hissed. The poor cat only calmed down when Takeru petted her head, "It's okay, Gatomon. Calm down."

"It's not okay, TK!" Gatomon hissed, "We've been here for so long! I miss Kari! I'm worried about her! The Digital World's going to hell and there's nothing we can do about it! Meanwhile, here's Tamer playing the idiot again and acting like-"

She paused to catch her breath, clearly to upset to be thinking properly. She calmed when Takeru rested a hand on her head - he didn't quite pet her but he did scratch just behind her ear. He added, "Don't worry. We'll return to the human world when we know things are safe. Until then, please just try and be patient."

Gatomon was less than thrilled to hear this news but she at least backed off yelling at Takato. However, Calumon could see that wasn't going to be the end of this bad day for him. Especially since Juri wouldn't stop looking at him expectantly. After a moment, she said, "There is another thing you all should know. Since you're here now."

"Juri," Takato said sternly, earning interested looks from the others. Gargomon laughed, "You should tell them now. It's only fair. Otherwise, I bet Juri or Henry will tell them."

"Tamer, please," Juri said in an almost teary voice. Something about hearing her almost cry made Calumon's heart sink, and he moved across the table to put a paw on Juri's hand. Of course, Rika reacted as she normally would, "Alright goggle head, what did you do!?"

After another moment of silence, Takato produced a picture from his pocket and slid it across the table, "It's about the other reason we're here: finding the real Takato. I...well, there's no easy way to say this. But he's not coming back. He's gone."

There was a long pause of silence as that fact sank in for the rest of them. Calumon didn't get it himself but he knew by the sad looks on their faces that it was hitting them all hard. Except for the new guy who proceeded to kick Takato's shin under the table. Takato yelped and fell over backwards onto the floor, "Ow! What!?"

"You know what!" the boy growled.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** The team is ready to head off! What will they find waiting for them? Will the digidestined and their partners be reunited? What new dangers await them? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out next week on Friday November 1st at 8 PM CDT! If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section! And hey, don't forget to leave a favorite to show support and to follow to keep up with the latest updates! That's all for now, so let's look at previews for the next chapter!

" _Hey! Henry!" Rika called out to him. He looked over his shoulder to see Rika and Ryo making their way towards him in hurry. Terriermon took the chance to joke, "I wonder if they're coming to kick your butt."_

" _Don't put that idea in my head," Henry frowned, worried his partner was right. It didn't help that all he had to say in response was, "Moumantai!"_

" _If they kick my butt, I'm kicking you," he warned his partner. The little digimon laughed at the empty threat and hurried off to join Calumon, who was busy being flown around by the Digignomes. Henry mentally prepared himself for whatever tai chi training he would need to defend himself when Rika stopped, "Ryo's got a question for ya."_


	30. The Village On The Coast

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 30: The Village On The Coast**

They rested another day at the house, part to recover from the day's fight and part so that the information could sink in for Kazu and Kenta. The rest of them hadn't really interacted with the real Takato before but he was Kazu and Kenta's friend. And they'd become uncharacteristically quiet ever since learning he was dead.

The mood was hardly any better the next day when they headed off towards the lights in the horizon, and the travel was awkward the whole way. Thankfully, their journey eventually took them to a beautiful coastline that seemed to go on forever. And the sight of it seemed to raise everyone's spirit if only slightly. Rika, however, was focused intently on Ryo who'd been quiet ever since the battle over the lake. Although she was unsure if it was due to the battle, Tamer, the truth about how his anger made Cyberdramon crazy, or something. She was sure he was still steaming about everything though and was trying his hardest to not lead it into Monodramon becoming violent again. Admittedly, the interactions between the two partners was out of sync now that Ryo knew the truth. Meanwhile, his partner Monodramon was grumbling about not being able to fly and wanting to hit everyone around him. Likely because of whatever pent up anger Ryo wasn't dealing with.

The funny thing was, everyone except Terriermon and Calumon would just push him away whenever he tried to take a swing at them. Even that idiot Guilmon was able to keep him at arm's length. Sometimes with his tail. Since Ryo had been hanging back, Rika slowed her pace to keep up with him, "You alright?"

"Yeah, just...taking everything in," Ryo answered quietly, "And processing everything that's happened. It's...aggravating."

"I know the feeling. Goggle head got on my nerves a lot. But the thing about Takato…I mean, wow," Rika nodded in agreement, trying to think of some positive points to add. One look at Monodramon was all it took, "At least your partner's a lot...easier to handle now that you've…mellowed out."

As she said that, Monodramon made another attempt at fighting and charged at Leomon. And for his efforts, Leomon picked up the digimon by the scruff of his neck and held him up at arm's length, "Please stop that. It's getting annoying."

"I'll stop when I knock you down a peg!" Monodramon hissed until Leomon knocked him on the head. The little dinosaur calmed down, whimpering in pain and rubbing his sore head. Ryo sighed, burying his face in his hands, "I don't think I did. It's hard to not get mad every time I see Tamer. How do you guys not get annoyed by him?"

Rika shrugged, "You're asking the wrong person. Kazu and Kenta are his friends. Were? I don't know, you've gotta ask someone else. Although I'm not sure who the right person to ask is."

"How about Juri? She seems friendly. Although the puppet is kind of weird. I've been meaning to ask: what's up with that?" Ryo gestured towards her, fiddling with her sock puppet anxiously. Rika recalled their conversation in the park about how hard it was for Juri to talk to others. In a strange new world, her anxiety was probably getting the better of her. And having Ryo question her might not be the best idea. Maybe Henry was a better choice? She waved it off, "Never mind. Let's ask Henry instead."

* * *

The only other sane member of their group walked in the middle with his hands in his pockets, casually asking Terriermon about every little thing in the Digital World as they passed. Part of it was genuine curiosity, part of it was because his partner had suddenly become very talkative. Terriermon gestured ahead, "It's kinda hard to believe your dad made all this. He must've had a lot of free time on his hands when he was in college."

"It's scary to think what he would make if he still had that free time," Henry surmised, thinking on what would've happened if he hadn't lost his project. Would he be working in his lab, trying to make improvements to the Digital World? Would he have gotten married to his mother? Terriermon laughed, "Maybe you and your sister should do more to keep him busy. That way he won't make any more things that'll kill us!"

"If only," Henry laughed, "Maybe Shibumi made some more helped programs while we weren't looking. Wouldn't that be nice if we had some of those digignomes following us around. Speaking of which."

He looked over at the glowing balls of light playfully flying around Calumon as he hopped along side them, amusing him with their aerial ballet. Every so often, he'd bounce on one and ride it for a little bit before falling onto the ground. Terriermon asked, "Do you think Xiaochun is ready to see him again?"

"She definitely liked having him as a playmate," he nodded in agreement, watching Calumon get lifted into the air by the little lights who continued to carry him around.

"Hey! Henry!" Rika called out to him. He looked over his shoulder to see Rika and Ryo making their way towards him in hurry. Terriermon took the chance to joke, "I wonder if they're coming to kick your butt."

"Don't put that idea in my head," Henry frowned, worried his partner was right. It didn't help that all he had to say in response was, "Moumantai!"

"If they kick my butt, I'm kicking you," he warned his partner. The little digimon laughed at the empty threat and hurried off to join Calumon, who was busy being flown around by the Digignomes. Henry mentally prepared himself for whatever tai chi training he would need to defend himself when Rika stopped, "Ryo's got a question for ya."

"For me? What's up?" he asked the other boy curiously. What did he have to offer a guy as experienced in the Digital World and as skilled in the card game as Ryo? He got an answer when Ryo shot Takato a sideways glare, "Tamer. How do you guys put up with him?"

Henry laughed at the oddness of the question, "It's not hard when you have a partner like Terriermon around."

Ryo frowned, obviously disappointed with the answer and added, "I'm not talking about his personality. I mean, how have you not gone completely crazy because of him? He drives me insane! All I can think about is how he dropped me off in this world for twenty years!"

Henry thought about that, recalling everything Ryo had said the day before and chose his words carefully, "Honestly, I'd be pretty mad if he did that to me. But the truth is, I guess I had more of a choice in the matter than you did. I could've walked away with Terriermon. It sounds like you didn't have a choice. I think that would've been easier than getting the choice. Because the choice becomes standing by while others get hurt, or putting yourself in danger to protect others. If that makes sense."

Ryo grumbled, "It really doesn't. It sounds like he just hasn't thrown you guys under the bus yet. I mean, you're right about one thing: I didn't have much of a choice. To be honest, I'm not sure you guys did either. After all, it's only a matter of time before he says something like 'all according to plan' or something stupid like that. For all you know, he's been pulling your strings since the beginning."

"Yeah, I've heard that about him," Henry glanced at Takato once, walking in the front with his digivice out to navigate. Maybe he should stop thinking of him as Takato - the real Takato was dead. Then again, he never even knew the real Takato. So what did it matter if he called the guy Tamer or Takato? He seemed like the plain old guy who was just trying to stop all the craziness before it got out of hand, "But he doesn't seem like the kinda guy who would."

"He would and will," Ryo said bitterly, before taking a deep breath to calm himself, "Sorry, I guess I'm still fuming about what happened."

"Moumantai," Henry patted the guy's shoulder. He raised an eyebrow at him, "I keep hearing your partner say that. What does it mean?"

Henry laughed, "It's Chinese and it means relax. Don't ask me where he learned it. He says its because some Terriermon learned it from a human a long time ago.."

"Huh," Ryo frowned, "Probably because of Tamer or something Tamer did."

Henry frowned, noticing that Ryo still seemed to be seething a little. The fact Monodramon was still trying to jump the other digimon was a dead give away. He'd need to talk to someone else to get all that aggression out. But who else could Ryo ask that question to? After all, Rika had her own issues with Tamer and wasn't the right person to ask. Kazu and Kenta wouldn't be safe bets since they each knew the real Takato and Henry wasn't sure what was going through their heads right now. It was almost unnatural how quiet things could be when they were chatting excitedly between themselves.

Juri seemed like a safe bet since she was following closest behind Tamerkato...that seemed like an odd choice of name for him but it worked. The Tamer was too weird, even a little too formal - but he couldn't keep using Takato's name. In either case, Juri seemed like she wanted to join the conversation but didn't know what to say. She might be the answer, "You know what, I think I know the person you should be talking to! Juri!"

The girl jumped at the sound of her name, looking up sheepishly but still managing to smile. She had been quiet ever since the morning before the Devas showed up. Ever since Takato revealed the truth about the real Takato. Still, she seemed to be the least agitated about it. She slowed down so they could catch up, "What is it, Henry?"

"Ryo here wants to know how we're not all being driven crazy by Takato," Henry explained sheepishly, "And I figured you would be able to answer since you know him better. Well, know him better than either of us. You are in his class after all."

Juri paused for a moment, her gaze moving skyward slowly as she rattled off anything that came to mind, "Well, he does drive our teacher crazy sometimes. But I guess it's because they know each other? Although I'm glad when he interrupts the class because then I can try to catch up with notes. It was also weird, getting strung along with everything that happened-"

"That certainly sounds like him," Ryo rolled his eyes and leered at Takato, "That guy always strings you along. It's how he works. And you'd better believe that if it means leading you into something awful, he won't bat an eye. So what did he do to stick you guys in this mess?"

Rika, and Juri all looked at each other - unsure how to explain their situation to him. Or rather, unsure who should go first. Juri answered first, "He didn't drag me into anything. I signed up for this. He actually tried to talk us out of it and get us to walk away. But I'm here. And it's been fun so far."

"I didn't even know Tamerkato was involved until a few days after all this started for me," Henry offered his explanation, "Terriermon just showed up out of my computer one day. Next thing I know, all this is happening."

"Tamerkato?" Ryo repeated expectantly. Henry shrugged, "Well, his name is Tamer but he's running around with Takato's face. But it feels weird to still call him Takato and Tamer is just...I dunno. Every time _The Tamer_ comes up, he's made to sound like something legendary. And he...well, isn't."

Rika was the only one who didn't give an answer, which was bad since Ryo seemed to trust her over them. Ryo didn't seem to notice though since he was still hung up on Tamerkato, "You're not wrong. But wait until you see the real Tamer come out. And when he does, you'll find out just how far you've been strung along."

Henry was struck by that question and had never really stopped to consider if that was actually the case. Was Tamerkato quietly stringing them along? It sounded like what Rika had talked about in the park - the forgotten novel that described The Digimon Tamer as manipulative. But knowing how'd been acting since the truth came out about the real Takato, he wasn't sure that was the case. Unless that was how Tamerkato was manipulating them. Then again, there was no way his attitude wasn't genuine - he was flustered, confused, and well out of his depth.

"Whoa! Check this out!" Kazu called out aloud. They returned their attention forward to a sprawling walled village with a castle in the distance. The castle was decrepit, practically falling apart - like something from a feudal Japanese fortress that had been sacked and left to rot. Juri gasped, "It's horrible! What is it?"

"That is ShogunGekomon's Village," Renamon answered, "The domain of ShogunGekomon and his people: the Gekomon and Otamamon. At least, that was its history. It was a bustling city a long time ago and is home to all sorts of digimon. They would take in anyone who needed a home, so long as they abide peacefully with others."

"No way! That's the thing from the show!" Kenta jumped up excitedly, "Kazu! This is the place from the show! Where Rika's mom sang that song!"

"Man, what a dump. What do you think happened here?" Kazu frowned. Tamerkato grunted as he carried on, "We're in the Digital World. Take a guess."

He marched ahead with Guilmon just behind him. Leomon crossed his arms, "I don't understand. It was not like this when I left."

Henry was sure that Tamerkato's statement was truer than he was comfortable admitting. And if it was, it would be dangerous to let their ticket wander off on his own, "We'd better catch up to them before they do something and get themselves hurts."

It took them a while to finally catch up to them outside the village entrance. The village was populated by a mish-mash of digimon - the toad like Gekomon, the tadpole like Otamamon, small little orange dinosaur Agumon, little bunny eared Koromon, and more. The digimon hurriedly moved oversized barrels towards the edge of the lake, shouting amongst themselves to hurry before someone arrived.

Whatever it was that had them all so worked up, it made Guilmon growl towards the ocean and drew the attention of the nearest digimon. One of the Gekomon took a good look at the group before continuing his business. As Guilmon continued to growl, the Gekomon stopped again to look - obviously annoyed with his growing. Before he could start to yell at them, his gazed fixated on Ryo and his eyes widened. He shouted, "Is that who I think it is? The Digimon Tamer! Everyone, The Digimon Tamer is here!"

The announcement brought all the working digimon in the village to a pause, digimon everywhere stopping in their tracks to look up at them. Then a mad excited rush followed as all the digimon came together to swarm the group. It was all Ryo could do to quietly step back behind the others as they were swarmed, although it was obvious to everyone that they were interested in Ryo.

"You have to help us!"

"We've been working for him for years! He never lets us rest!"

"Only you can stop him!"

Everyone stepped back to get clear of the wave of digimon, watching in stunned silence as Ryo was treated like some kind of celebrity. Which should've infuriated both Ryo and Tamerkato for the case of mistaken identity. Instead, Tamerkato smiled from ear to ear for the first time since his grim announcement and quietly remarked, "So this is what it looks like from the outside. It's kinda funny to see it happen to someone else."

Overwhelmed by the sheer number of digimon and annoyed at once again being mistaken for the person he hated the most, Ryo looked back to them as if he were pleading for help. All he got was Rika joking, "Hey! Ryo! I think they're talking about you."

It was weird to see her crack a friendly joke like that. For all of them. And even weirder that it actually managed a small chuckle from Renamon.

"I'll get them!" Monodramon shouted, baring his claws and charging in for the attack. He got just short of the crowd before bouncing off the backs of one of the Gekomon and landing face first into the dirt. Realizing he was on his own, the boy raised his hand to call for quiet. His lips curled into a frown as he explained, "Guys! I'm not the Digimon Tamer! Don't call me that ever again. He's over there!"

The excitement died down as they looked over at Tamerkato, smiling that dopey smile of his as he waved. The digimon of the village were unimpressed by what they saw and returned their attention back to Ryo, "That was funny Tamer, but this is serious! We're in a lot of trouble!"

Tamerkato frowned and stepped back towards the rest of the group, "That was new. I don't know if I'm offended or flattered."

"Why don't you show them your old digivice?" Juri asked. Tamerkato shrugged, "What good would it do? They already don't believe me. Besides, I'm more interested in what has them all so spooked and relieved to 'Tamer'! Let's see what's going on with those barrels."

He led the way past the crowd with Guilmon towards eight large bowls of foul smelling liquid just ahead of them. Guilmon got sick and started retching as they got closer. But Juri knew what it was as soon as she smelled it - it was the smell of strong alcohol. The kind her dad liked to drink and serve at his bar. She also knew that it was incredibly strong. Tamerkato took one sniff of the booze, barely flinching at the smell and remarked, "It smells a little weak."

It made sense. He was a lot older than he appeared - who was to say he hadn't drunk alcohol before. She watched him approach the nearest bowl and take a strong whiff. Then he scooped out a handful and took a drink. He fetched and coughed it back up, "Oh god. It's gone bad. Who would drink this?"

"Tamerk-!" she paused, catching herself before she finished saying the name, "Takato!"

Thankfully he didn't notice as he mouth and try to get out of his tongue. She was about to say he was too young for that, but then remembered this wasn't Takato. It was someone else. And she'd just called him Takato. But the real Takato was dead. It never bothered her before to call him Takato. So why now? Was it the fact that she knew the real Takato was dead? She was pulled from these thoughts by Tamerkato wiping his mouth, "Sorry! It's just awful. Who would want this!?"

"Don't drink that!" An Otamamon shouted, running over to shoo him away from the drink before he could have anymore. The Otamamon pushed him back with his head, "That's not for you! That's for Orochimon. He likes his drink like that and it takes us months just to brew enough for him. So no more for you!"

"Orochimon," Tamerkato repeated quietly, rejoining Juri's side. The little Otamamon hurriedly poured more of the contents of the barrel into the bowl. She didn't know much about digimon and had no idea who Orochimon was. She did think it was odd that the digimon in a place called ShogunGekomon Village were so concerned with the whims of a digimon named Orochimon. Maybe it was connected? Unfortunately, she was distracted by the powerful smell of alcohol coming from Tamerkato now. It seemed the smell rubbed off on him because he reached into the alcohol, "You stink."

"I do?" Tamerkato sniffed himself and frowned, "Crap, I got it on me. I'm going to jump in the ocean real quick and then we can start asking around. I want to know why ShogunGekomon's allowing any of this."

She was about to stop him but was unable to open her mouth without getting a face full of fumes. Instead, she watched silently as he jumped into the ocean with his clothes on - soaking himself in the smell.

* * *

A great roar blared in the distance and the gathered digimon returned to their panicked frenzy and started pushing the barrels out to the beach again. Of the digimon that assembled to meet them, only one Otamamon stayed to stare up at Ryo with wide eyed excitement, "Is it true? Can you really help us?"

Ryo glowered, burying his face in his hands in annoyance. Thankfully, Kazu stepped in to answer ecstatically by pointing a thumb to his chest and proudly proclaiming, "You bet we can! We're the new team of digidestined and we're here to help!"

"Please don't call us that," Ryo groaned. The Otamamon turned its head in surprise, examining Kazu's carefully before declaring his ego, "You're a lot smaller than the stories make you sound. I expected the Digidestined to be taller."

"I did say new," Kazu pointed out to the unimpressed Otamamon. Kenta did his best to stifle his laughter while Guardromon had to hold Kazu back from jumping the little digimon. Rika rolled her eyes and introduced herself, "Don't mind him. His mouth works faster than his brain. I'm Rika, this is Kazu, that's Ryo, Henry, Kenta, Renamon, Leomon, and Guardromon. What's going on here?"

The Otamamon gestured out towards the digimon and sheepishly explained, "Our village is preparing its weekly tribute to Orochimon, an eight headed serpent who terrorizes us if we don't. We need to prepare a special brew of sake for each of his heads but it takes so long to make that we're running ragged. We have to take turns working in shifts all day just to make sure there's enough for him. And he starts eating us if we don't have enough."

Rika looked out upon the barrels and counted them. There were indeed eight barrels being lined up at the beach like cups. And for some reason, goggle head was swimming in the ocean while Guilmon and Juri watched. A few digimon shooed them away so that they could empty the contents of the barrels into the bowls.

Leomon asked, "I don't understand. Where's ShogunGekomon? He's supposed to be the protector of this place? And what about the village guard?"

Otamamon's silent expression was all the answer they needed. They weren't around anymore either - that seemed to be a theme of present. Ryo folded his arms, "Orochimon's going to be tough. If I remember, he's an Ultimate and with Monodramon back to rookie, we're in serious trouble."

"But we have Calumon now!" Kazu pointed at the little digimon still playing with the digignomes. Otamamon stared at the little digimon and said only, "Are you sure that's a good thing? Orochimon would probably think he's a toy."

That announcement caught Calumon's attention and the little digimon stopped his excited staring to see what was going on. Terriermon patted the little guy's head, "I wouldn't underestimate Calumon. He's a lot stronger than he looks."

The Otamamon eyed him skeptically, "I'll believe it when I see it."

Another loud roar got their attention and the digimon gasped, scurrying over to the beach to help put the alcohol into the giant tub. Once they completed their tasks, the digimon retreated back into their houses. One of the Gekomon shouted as they ran past, "What are you doing? Hide! If Orochimon sees you, he'll eat you for bothering his drinking time! You have to hide! Now!"

Everyone followed the little Gekomon into one of the nearby houses. Rika wasn't normally one to run and hide but the Digital World had made her more cautious. She didn't know anything about this Orochimon and didn't want to walk head first into a blood bath without knowing what they were up against.

"Rika!" her partner shouted out. Rika looked back at Renamon and saw her pointing to Leomon running for Juri, Tamerkato, and Guilmon. All three of them were still standing on the water's edge as if they hadn't heard the noise echoing out from the distance. To make matters worse, there was movement in the water. A lot of movement. The ocean looked ready to come alive as the surface shook. And they were acting like nothing was wrong. Rika groaned, "You have got to be kidding me!"

* * *

"JURI!" Leomon roared. Juri turned away from Tamerkato and saw her lion partner running towards her with his arms in the air. He was shouting something but it was difficult to make out over the very loud rumbling she could hear from behind her. She tried cupping her ears and shouting, "What!?"

"RUN!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. He said something else but it was drowned out by another loud roar, followed by a large shadow appearing behind her. She turned around and saw a large serpent emerging out of the water. A panicked Takato ran back to shore beside her and Guilmon, standing in front of her just as another serpent head emerged from the water. Then another. Until finally an eight headed serpent was staring them down with all sixteen of its eyes. The closest head hissed, "Who are you? Why are you interrupting my drink time?"

Guilmon growled at the digimon angrily, presenting all of its claws. Juri froze in panic, mind racing for words that seemed just out of reach. She was glad Tamerkato was here to quickly put together, "Hello! I'm Takato! This is Guilmon! That's Juri! That guy running late is Leomon! We're here to serve you your drinks and make sure you're taken care of!"

Another head came in closer to get a good look at them, "We don't need to be taken care of. Go away. I want to enjoy my drink."

"Our drink," another head said. The two heads turned at each other, hissing until the largest head roared at them both, "No fighting! We drink now! Leave before we take some hors d'oeuvres with our food!"

Juri wanted to run now but Tamerkato kept talking, "Oh come on, Orochimon! You don't want to do that! Who'll stop you from choking on your tongue while you're passed out drunk? Or worse! What if you choke on your vomit! Admit it, you need someone to take care of you!"

The serpent stared at them with one of their eyes. The pupil moved from one person to another curiously, judging them carefully before one head finally hissed, "That might not be a bad idea. You can stay. But try anything and we will eat you!"

"Don't worry! We'll be here to give you pillows and all the care you need while you sleep it off!" Tamerkato gave a thumbs up. Each head took a tub in its mouth and guzzled them all down. While the serpent chugged, Juri leaned over to Tamerkato and whispered, "What are you doing?"

He whispered back, "No idea. I wasn't expecting Orochimon to just show up. I panicked! Sorry to drag you into this. Just roll with it."

The first tub fell back to the beach, followed by another and another. Each head let out a loud burp that filled the air with the noxious smell of alcohol and Juri covered her nose to drown out the smell. The Digimon Tamer waved the air, while Guilmon nearly passed out from the smell - staying upright only because Leomon caught him. Leomon covered his mouth to stop himself from throwing up - finally relaxing once Orochimon finished burping. The serpents turned their heads towards them, lowing four of their heads while the lead declared, "Come with us. We sleep off the drink on our island."

Juri felt her heart sink and looked to Tamerkato to get them out of this. The boy thought quickly and responded with, "Is that a good idea? You just had a hearty drink! It'd probably be better if you stayed here. It's a bad idea to swim after a drink! You should probably have something to ea...I mean...sleep it off here."

"Get on or I'll eat you now," the serpent hissed. Tamerkato offered her an apologetic look and mouthed a sorry before climbing aboard the snake's head first. Juri felt a lump in her throat choking her but managed to climb onto its head without passing out. She felt her head spin as Orochimon raised his head into the air and she latched on to keep herself from falling. Guilmon and Leomon followed their lead, climbing onto the head and holding on for dear life as the serpent turned back to the ocean. The lead head said, "Hold tight. I don't swim straight after a drink."

Juri held tighter, seeing Takato mouth another apology before they sailed off. She closed her eyes shut just as the first bob happened and she was sure she'd fall off.

* * *

Rika stopped just short of the water's edge, kicking the sand in frustration as Orochimon shrank into the horizon. He was leaving and they had to catch up soon if they didn't want to lose the others again. She groaned, "You've gotta be kidding me!"

Ryo folded his arms and smugly said, "See what I mean? He does that and there's nothing we can about it. We better hope he doesn't leave us behind. Wouldn't be the first time, though."

"Do you think they'll be alright?" Renamon asked her, staring off as the serpent turned into a speck before disappearing over the horizon. It didn't take Rika any time to think of the answer, "Nope. Leomon's good but Juri doesn't have much experience in fights. As for Taka...Tamer...Tamerkato! He and Guilmon are crazy. Who knows what they're going to do next."

"We should definitely go after him," Henry folded his arms and looked down at his partner, "You mind carrying a handful of people?"

"Sure! I was wondering when we would try out those cards Shibumi gave us!" Terriermon said excitedly. Kazu and Kenta finally caught up, both out of breath and being carried in the arms of Guardromon. Henry produced a set of cards from his pocket and started handing them out, nudging the out of breath Kazu to get his attention. The boy asked, "The crap is this?"

Henry explained as he prepared to swipe, "One of the cards Shibumi gave me. They give our digimon a temporary energy boost that allows them to digivolve. Swipe the blue one to digivolve one level, the red ones to digivolve two levels. DigiModify! Digivolution Activate!"

There was a bright flash of light as Terriermon cried out, "Terriermon! Warp Digivolve to! Rapidmon!"

Rika looked down at the red card in her hand and realizing that she had all this power at the tip of her fingers. She readied to swipe it when she saw Ryo about to do the same, and quickly knocked it out of his hands, "Don't!"

"What gives, Rika?" he asked like he'd been slapped in the face. She was surprised Ryo hadn't considered what was wrong and pointed at Monodramon just a few steps behind him, "He's still attacking everything he sees which means you've still got pent up anger issues! Do you really want him to digivolve to something other than rookie?"

"I've been on my best behavior!" the little digimon huffed, showing off big watery eyes in a bid for sympathy. All of that went away and he hissed when Rapidmon commented, "That was only because Orochimon actually scared you! That was the quietest you've been in a while!"

"So what do we do now?" Ryo asked, "We can't just sit here and do nothing, and I'll be damned before I let Tamer abandon us in another part of the Digital World!"

Rika scooped up the card before he could take it back up, "Don't worry. I won't let him. Besides, someone's gotta protect Calumon over there in case more of those Devas come looking for him. Henry, Rapidmon, Renamon and I will go after them. You guys wait here. Deal?"

"What!? I don't want to be stuck on babysitting duty!" Kazu complained loudly, prompting Kenta to smack the back of his head.

Ryo looked at her quietly for the longest time, almost like he was examining her. It creeper her out until he nodded and agreed, "Alright. I trust you."

Hearing those words made her blood rush with excitement and she excitedly turned to her partner, red card in hand, "Ready partner? Digimodify! Digivolution Activate!"

"Renamon! Warp-Digivolve to! Taomon!" her partner shouted, appearing in her long flowing robes and holding her massive brush in her hands. She scooped Rika up and took to the air, Rapidmon following just behind with Henry. They didn't have a moment to lose if they were going to save Juri or the others. But her focus was distracted by what Ryo said, his words echoing in her mind. But it was soon forgotten when Rapidmon added, "Hey, Rika! You're redder than the red card!"

* * *

Juri leapt off the serpent's head and watched the creature slither off into a large mound on the ground. It curled in on itself, coiling its body around its many heads to keep warm, "You are only to care for us. Try anything and we will eat you."

"Right, rest well Orochimon! We'll keep you from choking on your own vomit," Takato waved, hurrying to join her, "Sorry again, Juri. I panicked but we'll get out of this! Somehow."

"Well you'd better think of something," Leomon looked around nervously, "I don't know how to swim and we're miles from land. I don't suppose Guilmon can fly when he digivolves?"

"His breath stinks," the dinosaur mumbled just as Orochimon burped so loudly that she was sure he was going to break the island apart with the sheer force of it. Then the smell came and Juri covered her nose in disgust. Leomon followed suit, pushing Juri behind him to try and block some of it, "By the Guardians, that smell is horrendous. It's like a million Numemon climbed in his gullet and died!"

"Three-hundred and twenty-eight," one of Orochimon's many heads answered, one of its eyes open so that it could look at them, "They thought they could poison me from the inside and make me sick. They didn't think their plan through. Then again, they're about as smart as they are beautiful. Can't blame them after what I did to ShogunGekomon. Fat bastard had it coming anyway. More important, keep your mouths shut if you don't want me to eat you."

"Sorry," Tamerkato put his hands together apologetically, "We're new so we didn't know. But what happened to ShogunGekomon?"

"I'm a snake. He's a toad. Nature took its course," the head answered, "Now shut up."

It hissed that last part, preventing Tamerkato from prodding it with anymore questions. Satisfied, the eye closed and the serpent quietly returned back to dozing. They all waited in silence for the longest time, waiting for a sign to make sure the serpent actually was asleep. Ten minutes later, one of the heads was snoring and they all breathed a sigh of relief. Leomon asked at a hushed whisper, leaning in so they could hear him, "So what now?"

"Outlived another one," Tamerkato whispered back, shaking his head and scratching his hair, "Okay. Options. We could attack. But we have two digimon and he has eight heads so you'd only manage to startle him before he eats us all. We could actually do the care taker part but he'll probably eat us over the course of however long we're here. There are plenty of trees which gives us plenty of hiding spots. Eight heads means he can search more so...so..."

"Tamer, do you have an idea or don't you?" Leomon asked quietly. Juri knew he didn't. He could tell by that look in his eye - the same look he had when he was told WarGreymon was dead. Something was eating at him - possibly ShogunGekomon. But what did _outlived another one_ mean? She wanted to ask, but the idea of knowing another of his secrets filled her dread. Why did he keep so many? And what else was there? He'd promised that he wouldn't keep so many. So how many more things did they not know? Before she could ask, Takato stepped away and started pacing. He examined each of the heads carefully as he walked, "Why does it have eight heads?"

She gave the rest of the serpentine digimon another closer look. All eight heads were nestled in on themselves so that it could sleep off the alcohol. But what did that have to do with the eight heads? It was funny. It made her think of the hydra myth they'd learned in classical literature. It was such an odd story to think about. Tamerkato looked at Leomon, "How quickly do you think can slice through each head?"

"What?" Juri and Leomon answered in unison. Tamerkato pointed at the serpent, "We'll need to dispatch each head fast because as soon as the first one comes off, he'll wake up. They'll wake up. Whatever. Juri, use your digivice to give Leomon a speed and strength boost. As soon as she does, start going for the heads Leomon. Oh, and Juri."

He went through his deck quickly and handed her a card, "Use this. It'll help."

She looked down and saw it said WarGreymon's Brave Shield in big letters on top. She knew this card from the few times Tamerkato used it. She understood why he wanted her to use the card but not the sudden reversal on attacking Orochimon. He seemed keen to avoid a fight earlier. So why now?

"What are we doing?" she asked nervously, fearful of his answer.

"Letting nature take its course. On your mark," he replied coldly. She nodded nervously, readying the cards she'd been given along with some cards she knew would help. Tamerkato did the same and they swiped their cards together, "DigiModify!"

"Strength Boost Activate! Speed Boost Activate! WarGreymon's Brave Shield Activate!"

"Digivolution Activate!"

Their digimon partners glowed with light as they took strength from their digivices. Juri worried the burst of light would awake the giant serpent. It didn't. What did was Guilmon's cry, "Guilmon! Digivolve to! Growlmon!"

The first head looked up to examine the noise just as Leomon leapt upon it and sliced it off with a swing of his sword. The remaining seven heads jolted awake, screeching in pain and turning their attention on Leomon. The lion spun his blade in his hand so that he held it in reverse and leapt forward at the next head, cleaving it off before the others had any time to react. Now they were mad and began flying at Leomon. But he easily stayed just one step ahead, dodging through the strikes with his augmented speed. Not that he needed it. The serpent heads were still slowed from their drinking and couldn't quite keep up with Leomon.

"Bastards! I'll kill you!" one of the heads hissed in anger. As the fight dragged on, Juri noticed Tamerkato keeping Growlmon from jumping into the fight despite the growling noises he made. He obviously wanted to help and didn't like being kept back. Until she considered Tamerkato's emotional state. Growlmon didn't want to help. He just wanted to attack. And he was only restrained because of Tamerkato.

She asked, "What are you doing?"

"Waiting," he answered quietly. Waiting for what? As she thought about it, she noticed one of neck stumps writhing as something began convulsing out. It slid out with a sickening splat as a new head appeared. The head leered at Leomon, "You messed up, Leomon."

"Now," Tamerkato pointed at the head. Now Growlmon leapt in and cut the head off with his claws, causing the serpent to hiss in pain. Tamerkato called out, "Now burn the neck stump, Growlmon!"

"Pyro Blaster!" he roared, spewing out a ball of red fire at the neck stump. The serpent roared even louder and writhed in agony as its flesh burned and the open neck stump was cauterized shut. The attack was so vicious that Juri covered her mouth in shock. Sure, this was just like the myth she'd read about, she'd never once thought about how gruesome it was. Even for him, this was something else. It was...cruel. Then he called out, "Okay! Leomon! Cut off the heads! Growlmon! Burn them!"

"Juri?" Leomon looked over his shoulder at her. She looked from Tamerkato to the writhing serpent, hesitating for a moment before nodding in agreement, "Do it."

The lion nodded hesitantly before leaping back into the fight, leaping between the heads and slicing them off when an opening presented itself. One, then another. Every time he cut a head off, Growlmon would burn the neck stump shut so that it couldn't escape. Any time Leomon couldn't dodge an attack, he used the brave shield to block the teeth and protect himself from being eaten. This continued back and forth with the two digimon working together until there was only one head left. The main head.

It leered at them angrily, "HOW DARE YOU! YOU ATTACK ME WHILE I SLEEP!?"

"You killed ShogunGekomon," Tamerkato answered quietly, a glare on his face that she had never seen before. The serpent hissed, "And now I'LL KILL YOU!"

The last head leapt at him in a suicidal maneuver, completely ignoring Leomon who leapt up and sliced his head clean off. Then Growlmon jumped on it and cauterized the wound with his fire before the head could regrow. Once all the heads were off, the serpent fell still on the ground - before dispersing into data that both Growlmon and Leomon absorbed. All the while, Tamerkato stared at the remains with the coldest expression she'd ever seen - a kind of malicious look. Then it vanished, replaced with hurt. A sad and longing look that he had when they first came to the Digital World. The same one when they were at the house under the lake. She reached out to him quietly, "Tamer? Takato?"

"I'm fine," he answered, pocketing his hands and turning away, "We should figure out how to get off this island. Maybe we could make a raft?"

"JURI!"

"GROWLMON!"

Everyone looked up to see Rapidmon and Taomon flying their way. The two digimon descended on the island, dropping off Rika and Henry who scanned the island for the serpent. Rika asked first, "Where's Orochimon?"

"We took care of it," Tamerkato answered matter of factly, continuing towards Taomon, "Get us out of here. I want to go back to the village."

Miffed at being a commanded like that, Rika snapped, "Don't boss me aro-"

"I'm not in the mood for your mood, Rika," Tamerkato cut her off angrily, the malicious look in his eye returning in full force. For once, Rika cowed fearfully and nodded. Once Tamerkato was out of ear shot, Rika whispered, "What's with him?"

"I don't know," she answered sheepishly.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** The Digimon Tamer's mood has soured. What will happen next to the team? Will Rika deck him again for his attitude? And what will happen if he doesn't calm down? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out in three weeks on Friday November 22nd at 8 PM CDT! I'm taking another small break to get caught up with some work stuff and will be back afterwards. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section! And hey, don't forget to leave a favorite to show support and to follow to keep up with the latest updates! That's all for now, so let's look at previews for the next chapter!

" _You're back!" Ryo said excitedly upon seeing them all return. Rika hopped out of Taomon's hold and put a hand to her hips, "I said we would, right?"_

 _She was cut short when Takato stomped past her, brushing her aside with his shoulder and marching quietly back up to the village walls. She snapped, "Watch it!"_

 _He gave no answer, and continued on past the gate and into the village proper. He hadn't said a word on the entire flight back, instead staring silently out at the ocean. Right away, Kazu and Kenta picked up on the fact something was wrong and asked, "What's up with him?"_


	31. Beelzemon

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 31: Beelzemon**

"You're back!" Ryo said excitedly as they landed at the beach. Rika hopped out of Taomon's arms and put a hand to her hips, "I said we would, right?"

She was cut short when Tamerkato stomped past her, brushing her aside with his shoulder and marching quietly back up to the village walls. She snapped at him, "Hey! Watch it!"

He gave no response and continued on past the gate, straight into the village and the crowd of digimon inside. He hadn't said a word on the entire flight back, instead staring silently out at the ocean. Kazu and Kenta rejoined them to ask, "What's up with him?"

"Yeah, what's his deal?"

"I don't know. He just snapped at Orochimon," Juri answered sheepishly, "Orochimon said something about ShogunGekomon and nature taking course? Whatever that means."

Guilmon whimpered, "I hope he's okay. I don't like when he's like this."

Rika slapped her forehead, finally understanding, "You've gotta be kidding. It's no wonder he's pissed off!"

They all looked at Rika expectantly, hoping for some kind of explanation since they didn't have one. She tried to recall as much as she could from the book, before gesturing them all to get closer and explaining at just above a whisper, "It was in that book I told you guys about. The one that didn't get as popular. The Tamer was supposed to be good friends with ShogunGekomon. If anything happened to ShogunGekomon, it's no wonder he's acting like that. Not to mention what happened with WarGreymon."

"Right. Are we sure we want to keep following him? I don't want to be around when he does whatever he's going to do next," Ryo asked with folded arms. Henry elbowed him, "Not the time. This was a nice little detour but we still have to go on to the sovereigns."

"Tell that to Tamerkato! He's the one who's still walking!" Kazu thumbed over his shoulder at the village. Rapidmon peered over the kids, gently floating in the air, "Where do you think he's going?"

Rika cracked her knuckles, "Pain if he doesn't come back. He's the one who knows how to get back to our world and now's not the time to be moping. Let's go get him."

They went after the goggle headed boy, searching through the village while being swarmed with all the villagers asking about Orochimon. Apparently, Tamerkato went ahead and made that announcement himself but hadn't answered any questions, leaving them to appease the crowd in his wake. They must've shouted that he was gone a dozen times but each time they were met with more questions about how they were sure and asking who did it. At some point through the barrage, Monodramon roared, "SHUT UP! YOU ALL ARE JUST ANNOYING. DID ANYONE SEE WHERE TAMER WENT?"

"He's right there," one of the Agumon answered, pointing at Ryo. The boy cursed at the top of his lungs, "STOP CALLING ME TAMER! I SWEAR! I'M NOT HIM! WE MEAN THE OTHER KID! GOGGLES!"

Ryo paused to take a breath and calm down, "I mean the kid with the goggles. Where did he go?"

Their answer came in the form of a loud noise from a nearby building - something that looked like an old bar complete with signage half falling off and plenty of tired digimon trying to drink the rest of their tiring day away. Or they were until they started running out of the bar. Henry pointed at the crowd of running and screaming Gekomon and Otamamon, "I think I have an idea."

They followed the commotion all the way inside the bar, where Tamerkato was busy behind the counter throwing bottles over his shoulder as he searched the shelves. A large egg with two green legs sticking out of its shell backed out of the bar, "GET OUT OF MY BAR, KID! YOU'RE TOO YOUNG TO DRINK! ALSO I DON'T SERVE HUMANS. NOT SINCE LAST TIME!"

Digitamamon, the stingiest and greediest of all the digimon who always looked for a way to make money. Tamerkato barely looked over his shoulder as he tossed another bottle, "Let me ask: how did you outlive ShogunGekomon? No, never mind. I know why. Because you're the kind of digimon who doesn't take sides. You play the field. Always looking out for yourself. And it looks like you've done quite well, all thinks considered. Anything I'm taking is a drop in the bucket compared to what you've probably got stockpiled! I wouldn't be surprised if you were the one who told Orochimon about this village."

"Where the hell do you get off accusing me of all that!?" Digitamamon huffed, leaping onto the bar and kicking the bottle Tamerkato was holding out of his hand, "GET OUT OF MY RESTAURANT!"

"It's a bar. Don't try to tell me otherwise," he corrected matter of factly, stopping at a bottle of brown liquid that he whiffed, "Sour. That went bad a while ago. How do you make liquor go bad?"

He cast it aside and it hit the wall with crash. That was enough for Kenta, who ran over to drag him back before he earned more of Digitamamon's ire, "Takato! I mean Tamer. What's gotten into you!? Sorry about him! He's not feeling well!"

"Where do you humans keep coming from? Are you digidestined? LEAVE ME ALONE!" Digitamamon jumped up and down angrily, stamping his feet so hard on the bar that the wood shook until it collapsed out from under him. Kenta released Tamerkato to help the digimon up - not that it did them any favors, "Hey! Are you okay?"

"Get off me!" Digitamamon roared at the top of his lungs, "I already said! Get away from me! You kids are bad for business! Always have been!"

Knowing they were unwanted, they all walked their way back out of the bar but not before Tamerkato revealed a bottle he'd stolen from the bar and threw it back into the store so hard that they could hear it smash against the wall inside. Now Rika was mad and grabbed a hold of him, "What the hell goggle head? You're acting like a real jerk, right now!"

"Yeah, that's normally Rika's job," Rapidmon quipped, and was promptly smacked on the head by Taomon's brush, "Time and place."

Tamerkato pulled his arm out of her grip and adjusted his shirt, "It's none of your business, Rika. We've got about another day's walk before we get to the sovereign. Let's go."

"Dude, more walking?" Kazu complained, "Can't we stop for the day?"

In an uncharacteristic show of anger, Tamerkato turned on Kazu with a death glare, "If you don't like it Kazu, you're welcome to go."

"Tame...Takato, what is with you!?" Kazu roared in frustration, but Tamerkato had already turned around and started walking away with his hands in his pocket and his shoulders slumped. Not in the mood to deal with his attitude any longer, Ryo used his digivice to summon a rope of light and used to latch onto Tamerkato before he could get too far away.

The act caught Tamerkato by surprise, yanking back so hard that the boy fell onto his back and was reeled in like a fish. Rika tried to slap the digivice out of his hand but it was too late as Ryo pulled the boy up by the collar of his shirt, "Listen up! I don't care what's gotten into you because I'm still not the happiest person to see you. I've got a lot more reason to be mad right now than you do! You stranded me in this world for twenty years! So don't go acting all high and mighty with me, you got it!? You said you were going to make it up to me. Well you can start by taking this stupid attitude of yours and kicking it to the curb. The sooner you get done with your stupid 'saving the world' business, the sooner I can go home!"

Tamerkato stared up at Ryo impassively for the longest time before finally muttering, "Let. Me. Go."

His response only angered Ryo, who raised a fist to punch him, "Weren't you listening to me!?"

"Stop!" Juri finally cried out in a desperate bid to stop things from getting any more out of hand than they already were. The two boys paused, staring at each other angrily before Ryo finally let Tamerkato go. He grumpily dusted himself off and turned to walk away again until Henry jumped in front of him, "Tamer, talk to us. This is about ShogunGekomon isn't it?"

The sound of that name gave him pause and a contemplative look came across his face. Seeing that he finally had Tamerkato's attention, he pressed onward and asked, "Way back when, you promised something about not keeping any more secrets. Well how about you share so that this is one less secret you're keeping."

Tamerkato continued to stare quietly for the longest time, just long enough for it to become awkward. At least until he broke the awkward silence, "No. Not this time. But...I am sorry. Really."

"Takato," Henry began only to get cut off.

"That's not my name. We've already been over this. We should keep moving while there's still daylight," Tamerkato cut him off, continuing onward. They all looked at each other. Kazu and Kenta seemed the most surprised by his behavior, quietly commenting that they never figured he could get this angry as he led the way out to the other side of the village. Waiting for them was a familiar motorcycle ridden by a strange digimon wearing all leather and armed with a double barrel shotgun. The engine seemed to grumble as the rider sat there staring them down with a murderous look in his eyes. Kazu pointed at him, "Okay, now what? Who's this clown!?"

The rider revved his engine even louder in response to the insult, before taking off towards them at full speed. Right away, their digimon leapt to the front to defend their partners but the rider swiftly maneuvered the bike around them until sliding to a stop in front of Tamerkato. The rider sniffed the air and leaned down to look at him. Tamerkato looked up with the same annoyed expression, "Whoever you are, you've picked a very bad day to bother me. Run while you can."

That threat must've sounded ridiculous and hollow to the rider who merely grunted. But to the rest of their group, it was downright intimidating if only because of how calmly he said it. Tamerkato's anger and frustration was still there but it was tranquil now, waiting to be let loose. The rider simply grinned back, "Sup losers? Should've figured you pipsqueaks were on the other end of that smell. I see yous all still hangin' out togethas too. Sup toots."

The toots was addressed at Taomon who gasped, "Impmon?"

"It's Beelzemon now! Although I like badass myself. Hell, toots, you can call me sexy," the rider roared back, producing his shotgun and pointing it at Tamerkato, "I got my reward. Now I'm stronger. And I didn't need a stinkin' human to do it."

"Am I supposed to be impressed?" Tamerkato fired back. Beelzemon clicked his tongue angrily and watched the boy start step walking him as if he wasn't there. It was a pretty brave thing to do, ignoring a dangerous digimon like that. But it was also incredibly stupid because Beelzemon cocked his shotgun and aimed it at Tamerkato's back, "DON'T YOU IGNORE ME!"

Leomon leapt into action just as he pulled the trigger, using his sword to knock the gun off its aim so that the shell hit the sand at Tamerkato's feet. The boy barely clinched as the blast kicked dirt and sand into the air, but he did stop in his tracks and look over his shoulder with a frown, "Did you actually have something else you wanted to say or was that all for show? Seriously, your aim is off."

"A couple of days ago," Beelzemon began, finally dismounting his motorcycle. Juri and Henry held their breath as they waited for him to calm down like everyone else who rode the bike. But he didn't. His tone was just as angry and menacing as before. The bike wasn't what made him like this. He was just naturally like this. And that made it more terrifying as he added, "I felt a great big surge of energy and saw a beam of light shoot across the sky. An attack with that kind of power behind it...it got me excited. I followed it and ran into you guys. So you better start telling me who it was and where they are. I want to fight him. Or her. I'm not real particular. Got my eye on you toots."

He winked at Taomon who clicked her tongue in disgust. A sentiment Rika shared, "Gross. Creep."

Kenta leaned over to Kazu, "Hey, you don't think he means Machinedramon's cannon do you? Because that was a power up and I don't think Guardromon can take him in a fight."

"Yeah, so we better not tell him," Kazu whispered back quietly, "No one here did it dude."

"Don't listen to them. It was him!" Monodramon said bitterly, pointing at Guardromon. Everyone collectively groaned at how easily the little digimon admitted to that and Beelzemon stomped his way over to the machine digimon, "You, Huh? And what makes you think I'd believe a little runt like you could have power like that?"

"It's cause they used a power up to give him a mega weapon!" Monodramon answered again, prompting Kazu and Ryo to cover his mouth, "Shut up!"

Monodramon bit them in response and spat out, "No! He shot me in the head! So whatever this guy does to him is more than he deserves! Screw you guys."

"Ryo, I thought you were over your anger problems!" Kazu complained as Ryo added, "Do I look like I'm over them?"

They all looked at Beelzemon, expecting him to start attacking but all he did was laugh, "Are you fucking kidding me? All that power and you needed a human to get there? You guys really are pathetic. I wanted a challenge and all I got was disappointment. Thanks for nothing losers."

"Sorry you feel that way. Now go away. We've got other stuff to do," Tamerkato snapped, pointing off into the distance, "You're literally the last thing I want to see right now. In fact, you've got a lot of nerve showing up after what you did. We're only in this mess because of you!"

Beelzemon stepped towards Tamerkato, his frown turning into a nasty, toothy grin, "Y'know, I was gonna leave. But now I think I'm going to teach you punk humans a lesson! Let's start with you! I always hated you and you're stupid 'let's talk' crap! You know why!? That's a coward, right there. And you're about to learn you can't deal with problems by talking to them!"

He pressed his gun against Tamerkato's head, "This is how you deal with problems!"

He just stood there, glaring daggers up at Beelzemon. It was almost unnerving to see him unflinching in the face of certain death. Thankfully, just as Beelzemon was about to pull the trigger - he was leapt upon by Leomon, Guardromon, and Guilmon. They knocked him aside so that the shot went wide into the air and the digimon roared, "YOU GUYS AGAIN!?"

He threw them off - Leomon skillfully landing on his feet while the others crashed into the ground. That was all the signal the others needed - Rapidmon, Monodramon, and Taomon rushed to join Leomon as he took on Beelzemon. All while Tamerkato stood there with his hands in his pockets. In fact, he barely flinched as the digimon traded blows and fought aggressively. It took Rika and Ryo running out there just to finally drag him away from the fight to get him out of the fray. All the while he stared sullenly at the digimon. Rika groaned, "What's the matter with you? Why were you antagonizing him?"

"Aren't you the one always talking about how we should stop stalking and fight?" Tamerkato countered, adjusting his clothes and producing his digivice, "So let's fight. Digimodify! Digivolution Activate!"

Before she could stop him, he swiped a red card through the digivice and a burst of light shot from his digivice to Guilmon. The digimon had just enough time to get onto his feet and cry out, "Guilmon! Warp Digivolve to! WarGrowlmon!"

The Ultimate level was back on his feet just in time, as Beelzemon managed to lift Leomon up over his head and threw him at Rapidmon, sending the two out into the ocean. Both Henry and Juri gasped as their partners crashed into the waves, "Leomon! How is he so strong?"

"It must be because he's a Mega!" Henry guessed, "He's way above any of our digimon now! We've got three ultimates, two champions, and a rookie out there! And they're barely hurting him!"

"We can beat him," Tamerkato declared firmly, proceeding closer towards the fighting digimon in spite of the danger their attacks represented. Gun shots rang, fire blazed, missiles fired, and magic whipped the air around into a frenzy as Beelzemon continued his attack. At one point, WarGrowlmon, Taomon, and Guardromon, were on Beelzemon at the same time, trying to overwhelm him from all sides but surprised to see the mega was able to easily hold them all back, "Do you think you guys can take me like this? You've gotta be joking! You're all too weak because your humans are holdin' ya back!"

"Or maybe you're just cheating," Tamerkato announced aloud, catching Beelzemon's attention just long enough for him to start going off balance, "What did you say to me?"

"I said you cheated. You sold yourself out to the Devas for...what, power?" Tamerkato folded his arms, "You realize that means you partnered with another digimon instead of a human, right?"

"At least they let me do what I want when I want without ordering me around!" Beelzemon roared. Tamerkato nodded in agreement for a second, before firing back with, "Alternatively, they don't see you as all that important. I mean, you showed up by yourself. You say they let you do whatever you want but isn't that just a fancy way of saying they don't care what happens to you? You could fall down a cliff and they probably wouldn't notice."

"YOU'RE STILL MAKING FUN OF ME!?"

Tamerkato uncrossed his arms and marched straight up to Beelzemon, "Don't be stupid. I'm not making fun of you. I'm not even laughing. I'm just pointing out how phenomenally stupid you're being. Think about it. You've got all this power at your disposal. How long until whoever gave it to you takes it back?"

"Is he trying to make him angrier?" Kazu groaned, shoulder slumping in disbelief as the mega began to raise the other digimon into the air. As he said those words, Beelzemon started to buckle under the weight of the other digimon. Seeing his chance, Kazu shouted, "Now Guardromon!"

Beelzemon heard the called attack and eyed Guardromon getting ready to swing his arms. The mega level smirked, timing his dodge so that he was out of the way of Guardromon's attack and he struck WarGrowlmon instead. This left Taomon alone, long enough for Beelzemon to draw his shotgun and aim it at Taomon. She froze in a panic, staring down the barrel of the gun while Beelzemon mocked her, "You picked the wrong side toots."

In that moment of pure adrenaline, facing down the barrel of certain death, Taomon prepared to meet her end. And to her surprise she was saved when Monodramon leapt on him from behind, digging into his back with his claws, "Did you forget about me!?"

"Argh! GET OFF ME!" Beelzemon flailed, trying to reach for the miniature dragon on his back. Seeing an opportunity to help his partner, Ryo swiped a strength boost to empower his partner and called out, "Hold on, Monodramon!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Monodramon shrieked as Beelzemon tried to pry the digimon off, "Oi! Fox chick! Do something!"

"Taomon!" Rika shouted, finally snapping her partner out of her trance. She regained her nerve and summoned her brush to draw a symbol in the air, "Talisman of Light!"

The character flew at Beelzemon and struck him across the face. He roared in anger, finally prying Monodramon off his back and throwing him at Taomon. The two digimon were thrown backwards and Beelzemon turned on the children, "You think this is funny? Let's see how strong you punks are without your humans!"

* * *

Beelzemon charged them, and they all turned to run. Except for Tamerkato. When Juri looked back, she saw him walking towards the charging digimon. She called after him but he didn't answer her. Their partners were trying to race Beelzemon, but they were too far out. Juri turned back to pull Tamerkato to safety. He'd been out of it since the island and now he was walking straight into danger. Did he have a death wish?

That couldn't be. He was far too happy go lucky to have some kind of death wish. No, she had to be mistaken. She ran as fast as she could but she wasn't going to make it in time. Tamerkato was going to let himself be killed by Beelzemon. No. NO! Wait. Leomon. She stopped and swiped the card she needed, "Digimodify! Speed Boost Activate!"

Leomon gave a great burst of speed and caught up just as Beelzemon reached Tamerkato. He drew his sword and used the hilt to knock Beelzemon's gun up just as he pulled the trigger. The shot rang out and Beelzemon growled, "AGAIN!?"

He threw a punch at Leomon which the lion caught with his bare hands, "Stop it, Beelzemon! Why are you seeking violence?"

"Seeking violence?" Beelzemon repeated angrily, "I'm looking for someone to test my raw power on! Do you know what I've had to fight since I got it? Weaklings! Useless pathetic digimon who weren't even worth the time of day! This is the closest thing to a challenge I've had!"

"Okay, but why? What will you use that power for? Have you given any thought to that?" Leomon asked calmly, easing his grip so that Beelzemon could pull his fist back, "All that strength, all that raw ability. You could use it to protect the weak. Defend those in need. But all you can think to use it for, the first thing you wanted to do, is attack others. What will you do when that's not enough?"

Beelzemon paused for a moment, eyes locked onto Leomon. The two digimon seemed to relax and Juri breathed a sigh of relief. She was certain the fight was over. Even the other digimon were slowing to a stop just short of Beelzemon, able to tell the mega was beginning to calm. Leomon went on calmly, trying to dig further into the digimon's anger, "You have a lot of anger in you. A lot of it directed towards humans. What did the humans ever do to you, Beelzemon? What happened?"

Beelzemon's gaze went downward, "I-"

Tamerkato scoffed and rolled his eyes, "He had a human partner. Why else would a rookie digimon have so much knowledge of the human world? He must've been in the human world for some time. And whoever he got stuck with must've treated him awfully. That's why he thinks humans don't need digimon. It's why he tried to convince Taomon to leave Rika. Why he tried to convince the rest of you guys to leave us."

Beelzemon leered at him, arms shaking with anger as Tamerkato added, "I mean, if you really think about it. He's just projecting his problems on to us. He was probably too scared to face his actual partner."

That crossed the line. Beelzemon swung the gun onto Tamerkato and scowled, "Fuck you!"

Everything happened so fast that Juri barely had time to process it. Just as Beelzemon pulled the trigger, Leomon leapt in front of Tamerkato and took the shot right through his chest. But part of it went right through and struck Tamerkato in the shoulder. Both were thrown backwards from the shot, echoing out and hanging in the air.

Then Leomon began to come apart, distorting like so many digimon before him. He was turning to data. The other digimon ran forward to help him but Beelzemon trained the gun on them, "BACK OFF!"

He lifted Tamerkato up off the ground by his hair and leveled the gun against his head, "IF ANY OF YOU COME ONE STEP CLOSER, HE'LL GET IT!"

They paused now, everyone stopping in their tracks all while Leomon continued to turn to data before them. Juri felt her heart sink in her chest, watching helplessly as her partner turned to data before her. Leomon turned to face her one last time, "Juri."

"Leomon," she whimpered out, watching as what was left of him slowly vanished until he was just a head. With his last breath, he murmured out, "Be brave. You're so much braver than you know."

"Leomon!" she called out as what remained of him disappeared to nothing. He was gone. Her knees felt heavy and she sank to the ground, staring at where he'd been a moment ago. Tamerkato said, "Beelzemon. Don't do it. Leomon can come back!"

He could? Yes! he could! She remembered what Leomon said - if a digimon's data was let free after they died, the data could come back together! Leomon could come back!

"If you let his data go free, it'll reformat and he can come back. But please, let him go!" Tamerkato pleaded. Beelzemon pulled back the hammer of his gun, "You'd like that, wouldn't you? Well I'm not going to give you the satisfaction."

"Beelzemon! Please, I'm begging you," Tamerkato added, "He can come back. Just don't absorb his data!"

"Maybe if you'd shut up for one second, I wouldn't have done that. But since you won't stop talking, I'm going to make sure you shut up!" Beelzemon grumbled, pushing Tamerkato free. Tamerkato stumbled for a second, looking back, "BEELZEMON!"

Beelzemon rose into the air, letting Leomon's data gather around him until it merged into his body. All of it, until not a single bit of his data remained. Tamerkato stood with his mouth hanging open, fists trembling. Juri already knew what Tamerkato was going to say. Leomon was gone now. Absorbed by Beelzemon. He wasn't going to come back.

Rika was at her side, trying to pull her back up on to her feet and pull her away but she couldn't find the will to move. Just watch as Beelzemon cackled, "Oh yeah! That's some good energy right there! Let's see how well it comes out! FIST OF BEAST KING!"

He punched the air and a ball of fire emerged, gliding through the air in the shape of a lion before fizzling out. Beelzemon roared with laughter and turned on Tamerkato, "See that?"

"Yes," Tamerkato growled, "That was cruel."

"That was freedom," Beelzemon countered, "Now he doesn't have to listen to you humans!"

"He was our FRIEND!" Tamerkato roared back. Then something odd happened. His digivice began to crackle and shake in his hand, like it was about to explode. Beelzemon egged him on, "And what are you going to do? Little goody two-shoes always trying so damn hard to not fight or kill anyone! Cry at me? COME ON! DO SOMETHING!"

"I'm not going to," Tamerkato finally said. There was a sound like glass breaking and tendrils of dark energy emerged from his digivice, jumping straight towards WarGrowlmon and wrapping around him. Juri felt Rika pull her up onto her feet and shout, "TIME TO GO! GUYS! RUN!"

"Why?" Henry shouted.

Rika scoffed, "YOU'VE SEEN THE SHOW! SKULLGREYMON!"

Juri had no idea what any of that meant but they did. Everyone scrambled away except for Beelzemon and Tamerkato who stared each other down. The dark energy became a mist around WarGrowlmon until it consumed him and the digimon roared, "WarGrowlmon! Digivolve to! MeGiDrAmOn!"

* * *

Henry joined Rapidmon along side Ryo and Monodramon as they watched the black mist dissipate. Whatever came out of that black energy was not the digimon who went in. It was something else. Something worse. It was serpentine and monstrous, with more teeth than they could count and horns and claws protruding from every inch of its body. It called itself Megidramon and said nothing else. Any noise it made afterwards was just a loud growl that echoed through the air. And something else came with it. A foreboding dread and cold fear that filled the air and made them want to run away in fear.

"He will," Tamerkato said coldly, staring Beelzemon down. Beelzemon laughed, "YES! THIS IS MORE LIKE IT! COME AT-"

Before he could even finish his sentence, Megidramon slammed into him with its massive claw and threw it straight into the ocean. Beelzemon crashed into the water with a splash and a silence fell, until the digimon reemerged and roared, "YES! THIS IS WHAT I WANT! LET'S DO THIS!"

He charged again with his shotgun out and fired blast after blast at Megidramon. Each shot found their mark but barely caused Megidramon to flinch. In fact, he hardly seemed to registered the attack. Then Beelzemon took a leap into the air with his fist back to punch the digimon in the face, "TAKE THI-"

He was snatched out of the air by Megidramon's talon and held between the two massive claws in the air. The smile vanished from Beelzemon's face for the first time as he seemed to realize the gravity of his situation, "GRAH! THIS ISN'T RIGHT! YOU WEREN'T THIS STRONG BEFORE!"

"The digivices work by turning emotional energy into something digimon can use for strength," Tamerkato said quietly, "What do you think is happening right now?"

"ARE YOU MAKING FUN OF M-"

His words turned to screams as Megidramon ripped his left leg off of his body. Beelzemon howled in agony and was dropped onto the sandy beach beside his motorcycle. He tried to sit himself back up as Tamerkato went on, "Making fun of you is what I was doing before. This…this is called a murder."

"Tamer that's enough!" Henry shouted but the boy didn't listen. Beelzemon tried to aim his gun but Tamerkato kicked it out of his hand, "I tried…so hard…to be better. To be kind…to be merciful…but no matter what, it always ended in bloodshed and death. All the memories I had until now were foggy. What I could remember was I was not a good person. I desperately wanted to not be that person any more. I was scared of what I would do if I ever became that person again. But it doesn't matter does it? Because destiny always catches up to us. And I'm not afraid anymore."

Megidramon leaned in close to Beelzemon and let out a might roar, so loud that the mega level digimon was frozen. Tamerkato added, "Do you know what they used to call me? There were a lot of names…murderer, monster, Destroyer of Worlds…"

He paused for a second, "This...anger...I'm shaking. It's new. I've never been this angry. Not with this face. I'm not really sure what I'm going to do next. Doesn't that terrify you?"

"You think I'm afraid of you!?" Beelzemon shouted at the top of his lungs, throwing himself forward to take a swing at him. Tamerkato jumped out of the punch's way and let it hit Megidramon on the snout. Megidramon roared at the insult, using his mouth to bite down on Beelzemon's other leg and throwing him up into the air. As Beelzemon went flying, Tamerkato added, "If you're smart, yes. But we both know you're not that smart."

Megidramon caught him and slammed him back into the ground, again and again. Over and over until the smaller digimon was left lying on the ground. Henry couldn't just sit here and watch this. He called out to the others, "Guys, we should do something."

"Like what? You've seen what Megidramon can do. There's no way our digimon stand a chance! We couldn't even keep up with this guy! What chance do we have against that!?" Kazu pointed out. He was right. They'd get creamed. But maybe Ryo and Cyberdramon wouldn't. He shuffled through his deck and threw the red card at Ryo, "Catch!"

The boy caught it and glanced down, catching onto his plan right away and hesitating in a panic, "Are you sure about this?"

"You hated Tamer so much that Cyberdramon was basically an uncontrollable killing machine for a long time. If any one stands a chance against him, it'll be you two," Henry explained, trying not to think about the implications of two horrifically overpowered _and_ mindless digital monsters in this battle. Especially since there was no guarantee that the two wouldn't kill everyone in the crossfire. Ryo looked down at Monodramon, "Are you up for this?"

"Are you kidding? This is exactly what I've been waiting for!" The little digimon shouted ecstatically. Ryo nodded and prepared the card, "Okay. Digimodify! Digivolution Activate!"

He swiped the card and a beam of light shot from the digivice to Monodramon, "Monodramon! Warp Digivolve to! Cyberdramon! RARGH!"

Cyberdramon took off without missing a beat and struck Megidramon across the face, taking the digimon off guard and allowing Beelzemon to fall flat onto the sand. Rapidmon flew in to snatch the digimon before he got caught in harm's way and retreated to the safety of the group. This act of selflessness took him off guard, and left him asking, "Why are you helping me!?"

"It's not that I want to but I'm not leaving you to get eaten! And maybe _you_ didn't notice, but you just pissed off the most dangerous member of the team. And his partner turned into that!" Rapidmon shot back, returning to the others' side. It was just in time too as Cyberdramon and Megidramon squared off against each other Tamerkato's eyes darted up at them, his eyes burning with a fire they'd never seen before. Megidramon roared at them, filling the air with the noxious stench of his breath as Tamerkato scolded, "Are you serious? Now you guys have a problem with killing!?"

"Not like this! It's like you said! This is cold blooded murder!" Henry pointed out. Tamerkato scoffed, "Do you honestly think I care right now? Never mind. I wanted to do this quickly but if you want to prolong the inevitable, then that's fine with me. Beelzemon is going to die. How long he has to suffer is up to you guys."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** The Digimon Tamer has snapped - becoming the person he feared to be. Will the others be able to snap him out of it? Or will it not matter? And what of Beelzemon - will he be able to recover? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name, due out next Friday November 29th at 5 PM CDT. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. And don't forget to favorite the story to show support and follow the story to keep up with all the latest updates That's all I have for now, so let's look at previews for the next chapter!

 _The air was heavy with Megidramon hovering over them. As if to make the digimon more ominous, the sky darkened with storm clouds every passing second. The Digital World itself seemed to be protesting this monstrosity's very existence and looked to be doing all it could to drive him away. If only a little inclement weather would be enough._

" _I'm suddenly having second thoughts about this," Rapidmon said. Megidramon roared at the top of his lungs and spewed hot ash at them, "MeGiDo FlAmE!"_

 _The ash was coming at them too fast for them to try to get away. But worse was the fact that the attack was coming right at them. Rika shouted, "Is he trying to kill us!?"_


	32. Monsters and Sovereigns

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 32: Monsters and Sovereigns**

The air was heavy and breathing was hard. Megidramon hovered over them, leering down with his fiery red eyes. As if to make the digimon more ominous, the sky darkened with storm clouds every passing second. The Digital World itself seemed to be protesting this monstrosity's very existence and looked to be doing all it could to drive him away. If only a little inclement weather would be enough to drive it away. It would save them from the worse fight of their lives.

"I'm suddenly having second thoughts about this," Rapidmon said. Megidramon roared at the top of his lungs and spewed hot ash at them, "MeGiDo FlAmE!"

The ash came at their too fast for them to try to get away. But worse was the fact that the attack was coming right at them. Rika shouted, "What the hell goggle head!? Are you trying to kill us!?"

"No, I'm trying to kill Beelzemon. You guys just won't get out of the way," Tamerkato snapped.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Taomon drew her brush through the air and along the ground, "Talisman Spell!"

A green yin-yang symbol appeared beneath them, encompassing them in a green light that split the ash apart and protected them from the burning heat. But the heat still had them sweating just from the proximity. If this much heat was able to get through...how much hotter was it outside the protective field?

When the ash subsided, Megidramon brought his massive fist down upon the protective barrier. The first blow made a loud thunderous boom and they heard Taomon grunt "This won't survive a second hit."

"Guardromon! You were Tamer's friend before. How do we stop this?" Kazu asked. His partner scratched his head, "Last time this happened, the digidestined talked sense into him."

"Oh great. The one thing he doesn't want to do," Kazu groaned. Taomon called out, "We'll figure this out later. Everyone, get ready to run. On my mark! Ready?"

Everyone readied to take off, setting themselves up to run. Rika went to Juri, hoping to help the poor girl away since she was still too shell shocked to do anything.

"Now!" Taomon cried out. She dispelled the shield as soon as Megidramon wound up a second attack, and everyone scattered away to avoid the massive claw digging into the ground. That was their chance and everyone scattered away in different directions, hoping to get away before things got worse. Rika drag Juri along, the poor girl still staring at the spot where Leomon fell just moments ago.

Rapidmon carried Beelzemon away while Cyberdramon charged forward to block the attack. He uppercut Megidramon, stunning the monster for a moment while Guardromon and Taomon set up for a combined attack. As soon as they were safely away, Ryo, Kazu, and Rika acted quickly to support their partners, "Digimodify!"

"Speed boost Activate!"

"Strength Boost Activate!"

"Machinedramon's Cannon Activate!"

Taomon attacked first, clasping her hands together and summoning an array of red talismans to fly at Taomon, "Thousand Spells!"

The attacks hit their mark, but only served to bring Megidramon's attention onto Taomon. At least until Guardromon fired the cannon's on his back and struck Megidramon in the chest. It flashed like light as the digimon was pushed back, until he opened its mouth again to spew out hot ash, "MeGiDo FlAmE!"

Once again, the hot ash came and followed Guardromon as he rushed towards the water. Before the hot ash and smoke could harm him, Cyberdramon flew in and decked the mega from above, slamming his jaw shut. But that left him open and Megidramon grabbed him off his head and slammed him onto the ground, "RARGH!"

He did it again and again until the digimon was limp in Megidramon's hands. Megidramon hissed and threw Cyberdramon aside. Ryo gasped and raced to where his partner landed along the sand. Tamerkato proceeded towards them, calmly saying, "Guys. Fighting each other isn't going to do any good. We really ought to work together to destroy Beelzemon."

"You're the one attacking!" Kazu shouted angrily.

"No, Megidramon's attacking Beelzemon. You guys are attacking him. Big difference," Tamerkato said, just as his partner roared again angrily. This thing, this monstrosity, was not the sweet and kind Guilmon they remembered. Now all they could see in it was malice. Anger. Bloodlust. Henry jumped in front of Tamerkato, grabbing a hold of him by the collar, "Takato! Get a hold of yourself!"

He just looked at him indifferently, "My name isn't Takato."

Henry groaned, "Fine! Digimon Tamer! Whatever! Will you come to your senses!?"

"I am at my senses! He killed Leomon! That needs to be punished. Therefore, he needs to die. You don't get more sensible than that," Tamerkato explained calmly. The fact that he said it so calmly was the most terrifying. It was then that Rapidmon finally dashed in with his cannons aimed at Tamerkato's head. Tamerkato looked from the Ultimate to Henry, his eyes more cold and analytical than they'd ever been before. Henry remembered the stories from Takeru, the things Rika had warned about, the grumblings of the digidestined. For the first time since he'd met Tamerkato, he was sure all of it was true. Then he chuckled, "What is this? Your gamble to stop me? Going to pull the trigger? Shoot me in the face? Why are you all trying so hard to protect Beelzemon?"

"I'm just trying to protect my partner!" Rapidmon said, keeping the gun trained on Tamerkato. He looked back from Rapidmon to Henry, "You two are acting just like Beelzemon."

That accusation struck Henry. And he hated. It made him mad. Mad in a way he didn't know he could be. He pulled Tamerkato closer and shouted, "WE'RE ACTING LIKE BEELZEMON!? YOU'RE THE ONE GOING ON A RAMPAGE!"

"No, I'm being deliberate. I'm just trying to get to Beelzemon. You're the ones going on the attack," Tamerkato answered back quietly. It took all the self restraint Henry had to not punch him right there. He took a moment to catch his breath and think for a moment but had nothing to say to that. Tamerkato brushed his hands off him and remarked, "If you're done, I think I said I was going to murder that piece of crap. And I intend to follow through."

He adjusted his clothes and proceeded towards Beelzemon, getting far enough to be just beside the digimon when Rapidmon fired a shot into the air. The shot went so close that it managed to blow past his hair. Megidramon roared and Tamerkato spun in his tracks to look at the Ultimate. Henry's eyes widened as he looked at his partner, "Are you crazy?"

"Maybe I am. Maybe I've gone stupid too! I mean, he's not the only one able to lose his mind and start doing very stupid things at the drop of a hat!" Rapidmon blurted out angrily. Tamerkato looked at him quietly, staring for the longest time before remarking, "Stupid? Is that what you think this is? Stupidity? It's not. This isn't stupidity. It's clarity. I mean...I tried to be kind. I tried to be merciful. I tried talking things out. And it doesn't work! Well today, I'm not going for mercy. I'm not being kind. Because it doesn't work - the Dark Masters, Myotismon, Armageddomon, Apocalymon, the traitors! Kindness just means they'll come back worse later on. Today, I'm honoring everyone who's ever died because I tried to be kind. Because I tried to be merciful. Right now, only one person is going to die. And he's right there!"

He pointed at the injured and dying Beelzemon, still shooting a defiant look at Tamerkato. It was hard to deny that Henry wanted to take revenge for Leomon. But this...this wasn't right. He shook his head, "If you do this Tamer, you're going to be just like him. And we can't be like him. You can't...if you really are the Digimon Tamer, you need to be better than him!"

There was a pause. Tamerkato looked back sullenly like he was weighing Henry's words. But then he sighed and answered, "That's where you're wrong Henry. I'm not better. I never have been. I'm The Digimon Tamer. Ryo is right to hate me. Rika's mom is right to scorn me. Because I am so much worse."

He'd made up his mind. Henry looked over to Rapidmon, knowing what his partner had to do and afraid of actually doing it.

* * *

Juri watched silently as Tamerkato continued on towards Beelzemon. Rapidmon trained his gun but was whipped away by Megidramon's tail. Guardromon and Taomon jumped in front of the digimon in a last ditch effort to protect the injured mega and were batted aside by Megidramon's massive arms. Beelzemon drew his shotgun one more time to get off one last minute shot. Tamerkato didn't even try to get out of the way.

They were going to kill each other. Juri couldn't take it any more. She wanted to scream. To shout. To let out all the pain and guilt building up inside her, "STOP!"

Tamerkato and Beelzemon paused to look at her. She must've looked absolutely pathetic, kneeling on the ground with tears streaming down her eyes. Between pauses her breath, she pleaded, "No more. Please...don't...there's been enough death. I don't want anyone else to die. So please...don't."

Tamerkato looked at her mournfully, his expression breaking out of his impassive state for the first time since the island. Without looking away from her, he snatched the shotgun out of Beelzemon's hand and threw it aside. Then he kneeled down at the digimon's side, "Juri's right. There's been enough death. But that doesn't make what you did right."

He raised up his hand and touched Beelzemon on the forehead, "You need to be punished."

It was hard to understand what happened next. All he did was press a finger to Beelzemon's forehead, but the mega started screaming at the top of his lungs. Screaming. Pleading. Pushing Tamerkato away and crawling away on the dirt, "NO! MAKE IT STOP! PLEASE! MAKE IT STOP! WHY?"

He stopped screaming only to violently vomit on the ground, before screaming again, trying to crawl away as fast as he could. Henry and Ryo were on Tamerkato again, pulling him back and away from Beelzemon as the digimon continued to drag himself away. Ryo snapped, "What the hell did you do to him?"

"I put a memory in his head," Tamerkato answered quietly. Henry looked from the boy to Beelzemon, "What the hell kind of memory did that?"

That was the question wasn't it. Ignoring how he did it and assuming it was just some kind of Ancient thing, what memory did he put in Beelzemon's head to reduce him to a scared and frightened digimon crawling away for his life. And the answer Tamerkato gave was probably one of the least reassuring answers he could've given, "A really bad one."

It was strange how four little words could be the scariest thing any of them heard - four words they'd probably heard a million times on their own. But in this time at that order, they were scarier than anything else Tamerkato had done. Juri's eyes lingered on Beelzemon, finding him pitiable now despite the senseless violence he'd unleashed upon Leomon. She almost felt sorry for him. Almost. But Leomon's death kept her from feeling more than pity for him. It was a hollow feeling, because no amount of suffering inflicted on him would ever bring Leomon back to her.

And then she remembered that a digimon's memories became a part of the digimon who absorbed them and she was compelled to wonder if some part of Leomon was still alive. Did he linger on in Beelzemon, somewhere? Or were his memories part of Beelzemon now, just another thing to be angry about. She hated everything about that - how powerless she was to do anything about it. The fact that someone else had been taken from her life unfairly. And all of it was Tamerkato's fault. If he hadn't egged Beelzemon on...

She looked his way, seeing him watch Beelzemon crawl along the sand screaming and begging for mercy. He was like a monster. No, The Digimon Tamer _was_ a monster. Rika was right. They'd all been right. He was horrible.

"So...are you okay now or should we be worried?" Kenta asked nervously, looking back at Megidramon growling at them. Tamer seemed calm but that didn't explain Megidramon...or why the digimon was still there. Kenta added, "Because Guilmon's not turning back and he's still terrifying to look at. He isn't going to eat us, right? Right? Takato? Right?"

The Digimon Tamer didn't answer, looking back at the massive mega digimon hovering over them. He ran a hand through his hair to swipe it back and adjusted his goggles up over his head. A moment of silence followed as he drew a deep breath, seemingly to calm himself but that did nothing to regress Megidramon back to his rookie form. He was still angry. Of course he was. It made her wonder...

...if Leomon were still alive, what would her anger turn him into? Would he be strong enough to make even Megidramon tremble in terror? If only she had been stronger...braver...she would have been able to save Leomon.

* * *

Henry wasn't sure the situation could get any worse and was glad it hadn't. But he was sure something was going to set either Tamerkato or Megidramon off at any moment. His attempts to reason with Tamerkato hadn't quite gone anywhere. And now he was silent, staring at his partner calmly as his partner leered back.

Then the clouds parted and a blinding pillar of light descended from above to strike Megidramon. The mega let out a howl of pain as it crashed into the ground, gnashing its teeth and thrashing its arms angrily. The massive monster turned its head skyward, opening its mouth to reveal rows upon rows of teeth, "MeGiDo FlAmE!"

Hot ash spewed out of his mouth towards the sky, only to disappear into the light. His backlash seemed to empower the pillar of light and it grew in size until the digimon was consumed completely by the light. All they could make out was his silhouette for a split second and even that disappeared eventually.

For a moment, it seemed they'd lost two digimon in the span of a few minutes: Leomon and Guilmon. Then the light faded to reveal the little red dinosaur resting unconscious on the ground. Tamerkato gasped and ran to his partner's side, cradling the unconscious rookie in his arms - or at least as much as he could cradle the adult sized rookie, "Guilmon! GUILMON!"

The fear was back, this time for whatever was able to single handedly take out the monster Megidramon so easily. The clouds parted to reveal a light blue serpent made of clouds and wrapped in long chains, bathed in a glow of light that made the world around them seem dark. As the serpent came into view, so did its long wispy beard that reached so far down that it almost touched the ground and waved in a nonexistent wind. The digimon looked down on them, "What the hell is going on?"

The voice was not quite what he expected from such a large digimon. He expected it to be booming and commanding but instead it spoke softly like a parent. Still, Henry knew this digimon from the show and was more than excited by the fact that he actually got to see it in real life. He was sure everyone knew this digimon's name too.

"Who's asking!?" Rapidmon shouted back at it. Well, almost everyone should've known who this digimon was. Guardromon slapped Rapidmon across the back of the head and explained, "That's Azulongmon! A Sovereign Digimon!"

"Hey! Rapidmon! Maybe don't anger the giant digimon in the sky that just took out Megidramon!" Rika added. Rapidmon threw up his arms in frustration, "Does it matter? This makes three crazy digimon trying to attack us just today. Why break the streak? Let's see how many we can get! Let's aim for four! Five! Sky's the limit today."

"I really hope you're kidding," Henry slapped his forehead and called out to Azulongmon, "Azulongmon!"

It was very daunting to be this digimon's center of attention. Even more daunting when it leaned in closer to look with his four eyes. He put on the bravest face he could as the dragon asked, "Humans? Wait! Are you the digidestined!? It's been so long! It's good that you're here! We don't have time to lose! Is the Digimon Tamer with you? Please say-"

"He's not," Tamerkato answered quickly, keeping his attention focused on Guilmon. He lied. He wasn't sure why but decided against calling it out right now. He wasn't sure adding more to his bad mood would do any of them any good right now. Azulongmon glanced down at Tamer and Guilmon briefly, "Was that your partner?"

Tamerkato nodded quietly and Azulongmon rolled his eyes, "Work on your anger issues. Seriously, we've got enough things on our hands without having to deal with a human who can't keep his emotions in check. Which digidestined are you, by the way? I don't recognize any of you. You're not that one who wore the fire jacket were you? Your fashion sense has barely gotten better."

"I think he runs a noodle cart now, actually," Kenta added quietly.

"We're not the digidestined!" Rika answered the digimon above them. The flying dragon examined them carefully, "Are you sure? You have digimon partners. And what look like digivices. Just not any digivice I've seen before."

"We're sure," Taomon assured the flying dragon. Azulongmon mumbled something under his breath before asking, "Well if you're not the digidestined, then who are you and...wait, Tamer?"

He looked directly at Ryo when he said that and the boy groaned, "For the love of...why does everyone think I'm Tamer? I'm Ryo. I'm human too. The Digimon Tamer is-"

Tamerkato shot him another dirty look and Ryo paused, considering what he should say and settling on, "Not here. And certainly not me."

Azulongmon stared down at them quietly before sighing, "It doesn't matter. Since you're here, there's...the Catalyst! Why do you have the Catalyst!?"

Calumon cowered at the sound of being called the Catalyst and retreated to safety behind Juri. Tamerkato's attention was back on his partner and he hardly noticed that the subject was now about the little digimon. Or maybe he did notice and was feigning ignorance. Henry hater the uncertainty that accompanied Tamer's actions, "Calumon is actually why we're here."

He paused as he considered what he was going to say next. Admitting to a Sovereign that he had been the one stopping the Devas seems like a bad idea. Then again maybe he would be understanding? Azulongmon seemed like an understanding digimon. On the other hand, he had knocked Megidramon back to Guilmon with one attack. So what chance did they have if they made him angry? He swallowed the growing lump in his throat and again, "The Devas came to our world. And they were looking for this little guy. So we decided to come to your world and ask why. We know your world's in trouble. We gathered that much from the Devas when they fought us. But what exactly is it?"

The sovereign gazed down on them from on high, and Henry wasn't sure which unnerved him more: the monstrosity Tamerkato had released or the sovereign staring down at them. He was sure they were about to be attacked, when Azulongmon spoke, "Come with me and I'll explain everything to you. But not here. Time is a factor and we can't afford to waste it."

The dragon descended upon them so fast that they weren't prepared for the flash of light that followed his descent, or the sudden rush of wind as he encircled them. He coiled around them, moving in a serpentine spin at such speed that the whole world seemed to go crazy as he spun around until they felt their stomachs turn and the world spin.

When he finally stopped spinning around them and uncoiled, they found the sandy beaches of Gekomon Village replaced by miles of endless desert. And worst of all was a blinding light just a short distance away that they needed their hands to shield themselves from. Rika groaned, "What happened? Where are we?"

"The Tier of the Sovereigns," Azulongmon answered proudly, hovering just before the light to shield them from it. Now that they were better able to see, they could make out the silhouettes of several other digimon present - a tortoise, a giant bird, what looked like a rabbit, an overgrown dog, a pig, and a mouse in a metal ball. Rika rubbed her eyes, trying to get them to focus but wasn't able to concentrate properly. It didn't help that Beelzemon was still screaming bloody murder and she cried out, "Will someone shut him up!?"

Taomon leapt over to Beelzemon and apologized, "I'm sorry. This is for your own good."

She hit him across the back of his head as hard as he could, finally rendering the mega level digimon unconscious on the ground.

"AZULONGMON! WHY DID YOU BRING INTERLOPERS HERE!?" a voice cried out, prompting Calumon to shriek, "That's him! That's the mean and scary voice the monkey took me to!"

His screaming panic sent him burying his face into Juri out of fear, as if looking away from the silhouettes would make whatever digimon they were about to meet leave him. The voice added, "Oh, it's the catalyst. Where are Makuramon and the dragon digimon?"

Azulongmon flew straight into the light, apologizing as he went to confer with the silhouette, "Will you stop with the light show, already? It's not impressing anyone - you're just making it hard to see anything!"

Silence followed before the light began to fade, revealing the silhouetted digimon along side six new massive digimon they had never seen before. Although it wasn't hard to figure who they were: the Sovereigns and whatever remained of the Devas. The large crimson bird swept its way towards them, "Hmph...why are there humans here? Are these the digidestined?"

"I'm afraid not, although I wish they were," Azulongmon answered dryly. If it was possible at all to feel any more unwelcome in the Digital World, Henry was sure they were feeling it. Azulongmon added, "However, they have digivices that can affect digimon partnered with them. So perhaps they are."

"I see. Wait, isn't that the little imp that I rewarded some power to? What's he doing here?" The large crimson bird asked loudly, gesturing towards the unconscious Beelzemon with his beak. Then it occurred to Henry that this must've been the digimon that Impmon had given Calumon to. The bird gazed down upon them expectantly, its eyes moving from one to another until it finally rested on Henry, "You! Explain!"

"Um...well, he attacked us because he was looking for a strong opponent," Henry answered quietly, trying not to avoid the large digimon's ire. The bird grunted its disapproval, "Hmph. He did strike me as weak willed. Even with a fraction of my power, he was weak. Very well, I am Zhuqiaomon - crimson bird of the south quadrant of the Digital World! Tell me who you are, humans, and why you are intruding in our domain!"

"Um...I'm Henry, that's my partner Rapidmon. That's Rika, her partner Taomon, Ryo, his partner Cyberdramon, Kazu, his partner Guardromon, that's Kenta, Juri, Tam...Takato, and his partner Guilmon," he answered quietly, "And you already know Calumon...the catalyst as you call him. We're here because we're trying to figure out why he was in our world and why the digimon were crossing over into our world to get him back. We got the basics down, there's trouble in your world but what exactly is going on?"

"I see, I see. And how exactly did you get to our world?" Zhuqiaomon asked next, "Travel between worlds should only be possible for the digidestined and the Digimon Tamer. And you are neither."

Henry paused, moving his gaze over to Tamerkato as he struggle to come up with an answer. Tamerkato just shook his head at him, as if he were begging him to not answer the question. He really wished he'd snap out of whatever was eating at him because he was not the quickest thinker in this kind of situation. Thankfully, Guardromon answered, "I helped them. I went to their world in search of the Digimon Tamer. I found them."

He breathed a sigh of cautious relief. At least he hadn't lied. After all, it was technically the truth. There was just one thing he didn't understand. Why was Takato or Tamer choosing now to have his mental breakdown? Why now was he regressing back to using secrets.

"He's been down there a long time. Maybe we should go down to help?" The turtle said, looking away from them. Now that they could get better a look at it, the realized the turtle was massive, with a large oak growing from his back and a second head protruding from the side of his neck. The second head, "Quit worrying about the little prat for five minutes. He's fine! We haven't even introduced ourselves. Humans! We're Ebonwumon, Sovereign Lord and Black Tortoise of the Northern Quadrant!"

"I'm just saying that maybe we should go down there and help him," the first head countered, still ignoring them, "It's not like he can take care of it by himself. We couldn't take care of it together. Maybe we should've sent him some back up? Some of us definitely should've gone down with him."

"Focus!" The second head countered. As soon as he said that, a giant pillar of red fire shot out of ground from behind the Sovereign digimon. It was followed by several large blasts of white lightning and the ground shaking beneath their feet. Once the shaking subsided, the first head said, "I was right to worry. Something is going horribly wrong down there!"

"So what exactly is going down there?" Ryo asked. Azulongmon glided past them towards a large and growing crevice that was just behind the gathered digimon. Azulongmon answered, "We Sovereign digimon serve as the guardians of this world and the last line of defense against danger. One day, we sensed...something...wrong and came to investigate. We found this crevice that tunnels far below the surface of the our world. And we found...a thing. We don't know what it is. We're not entirely sure if it's even alive. But it attacked us, and it was unfazed by anything we did to stop it. That was when we realized a horrible truth about whatever this...thing is. It's not digimon...or human. But it is Digital. And it seems to only want to destroy. We fled from it. And then WarGreymon came to help. He saw the danger and sacrificed himself to buy us time - collapsing the very earth on top of himself to bury it. But the time he bought wasn't enough. The thing beneath us started to escape. Now, one of our own, Baihumon has gone down to battle."

There was another flash of lightning from deep within the crevice, followed by a pillar of red fire. Kazu walked over to the pillar of fire and commented, "Wow, he must be a really brave digimon to go down there."

"More like he was the only one small enough to actually venture down into the new crevice," Ebonwumon's second head pointed out, "Maybe you haven't noticed, but the rest of us are too big to actually get down there."

"But then what about the rest of you?" Taomon asked, gesturing towards the rest of the digimon - the dog, the pig, rabbit, and the mouse. Kazu readily agreed, "Yeah! The rest of you have got to be small enough to fit inside! Well, except for you big guy."

He readily gestured at the pig. Kenta adjusted his glasses, "That's why they needed Calumon. They're not strong enough. If the Sovereigns ran scared, what chance would these guys have?"

"WE WERE NOT SCARED!" Zhuqiaomon roared at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing through the Digital World. Ebonwumon's second head cleared its throat and clarified, "What he means is it was a tactical retreat."

The first head countered, "They have a word for that. It's called scared."

Their inability to agree was amusing, made all the better when the fire on Zhuqiaomon's body erupted into emboldened flame. It stopped being funny when Calumon yelped, prompting Rapidmon to point out, "As funny as it is to watch you guys argue, shouldn't you be more worried about your friend? You said he was down there by himself. And besides, you have Calumon now. What are you waiting for?"

A beat of silence followed as the digimon sovereigns looked amongst themselves until the rabbit groaned, "Oh for the love of...fine, I'll tell them. We don't really know how to use it. We were hoping to either find the Digimon Tamer or that Makuramon would find the information to use it first. But we haven't seen either Makuramon or Majiramon since they left to get the Catalyst."

"SILENCE ANTYLAMON! Until you learn to hold your tongue, go guard the Western Gate to our domain!" Zhuqiaomon roared, the fires on his wings growing ever brighter. Antylamon's ears slunk down as the giant bunny shrank away, turning to leave with her shoulders slumped. Henry looked hard at Tamerkato now, who still sat on the ground beside his silent partner. He seemed to be saying something but it was too quiet to actually hear. Probably disturbed by what he'd done to his partner. And as for Juri, she'd also seemed to have shut down. It seemed both of them were out of the fight on this end now.

* * *

Ryo wondered if the reason none of them had mentioned what happened to the other Devas was a fear of reprisal from the Sovereigns. He was about to explain when Rika opened her mouth, "If you're waiting for the monkey and the dragon, don't bother. They're dead."

"WHAT!?" Zhuqiaomon roared angrily, an apparent habit of his. Rika didn't cow like Antylamon, actually appearing annoyed with Zhuqiaomon for exploding like a child, "Hey! They attacked us! Besides, it's not like they were going to listen to us when we told them to stop."

"You...YOU'RE THE ONES WHO KILLED THE OTHERS! MIHIRAMON! SINDURAMON! SANDIRAMON! PAJIRAMON! VAJRAMON! EVEN INDRAMON!"

Zhuqiaomon was mad now. As he roared, pillars of fire erupted from the sand around them and encircling them in a brilliant display. Ryo tried gesturing at Rika to knock it off, hoping she would stop antagonizing the giant fire bird in front of them. Especially since that worked so well for them last time. Instead she only seemed empowered by his rampage and she rolled her eyes, "That's not impressing anyone. Take it from me: you're just coming off as really childish."

Zhuqiaomon paused to consider what she said and the fires died down, leaving only blackened scorch marks along the ground. The bird leaned in on Rika, and they were able to better appreciate his massive size. His head alone was probably the size of an SUV, "How can a human like you be so unintimidated?"

"Are you kidding? We've been fighting for our lives against crazy digimon since we got here. Why should you be any different?" she countered grumpily, "I mean, the last guy had eight heads. Then there was Megadramon who came out of the snow, Beelzemon over there actually showed up on a motorcycle and was trying to shoot us. At this point, I think we're all tapped out for being surprised or scared."

Zhuqiaomon examined her carefully, and he was sure she was about to get herself killed. He hurried ahead of her and pulled her behind him, "If you're thinking of hurting her, you're going to have go through me."

He'd lost enough in his time here in the Digital World. Ryo wasn't about to lose anymore, especially not to this overgrown bird. Zhuqiaomon shook his head, "I wasn't planning on anything. I was just thinking on how much she reminds me of the The Digimon Tamer. For a moment, it seemed she was. But the look in her eyes is different. They're younger, more optimistic. The Digimon Tamer had the eyes of a warrior. Eyes that already had a plan to stop you before they'd met yours."

Ryo tried his hardest not to glance at Tamerkato, wondering how Zhuqiaomon would take the news that he was the Digimon Tamer. Whatever warrior fervor Zhuqiaomon thought he had was gone a long time ago, only coming out as spats of pure anger whenever he was provoked enough. Now he just seemed broken. He contemplated what to say or do now but was unsure for the first time since he'd come to the Digital World. All he wanted for now was to go home.

"Well, what if we helped?" Kazu asked aloud, "I mean, since you don't know how to use the Catalyst, how about we go down and take a look at...whatever it is that has you all spooked. Maybe we can do something about it!?"

Zhuqiaomon turned his attention to Kazu and growled, "And how do you propose to do that?"

Kazu gestured at their partners, "Between Guardromon, Cyberdramon, Taomon, and Rapidmon? We fly down there! It'd work since we could just squeeze into the gap. If we can't stop it, we can definitely help Baihumon get out."

The sovereigns and Devas looked between each other, silently communicating with their eyes until Azulongmon answered, "Why not? What's the worse that could happen?"

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Megidramon is defeated but has the rage of the Digimon Tamer subsided? What will the heroes find in the depths of the Digital World that has even the Sovereigns scared? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 due out next week on Friday December 6th at 8 PM CST. Let me know what you guys think in the reviews section! I also welcome constructive criticism and feedback! And hey, if you loved it, then don't forget to favorite to show support and follow to keep up with all the latest updates. And hey, I hope you're all having a happy Thanksgiving and enjoying the holiday shopping season. That's all I have for now. Let's look at previews for the next chapter!

" _It's kinda dark and there needs to be more light!" Kazu shouted back up._

 _A bolt of lightning shot up from within the depths of the crevice followed by another pillar of fire. Azulongmon moved out of its path and heard the kids below screaming in terror and protest as their flung around by his beard. After a moment of silence, Rika shouted, "Dammit Kazu! You just had to ask for light, didn't you!?"_

" _I didn't mean that kind of light. And seriously, stop shouting at me. You're making me look bad in front of Azulongmon!_


	33. The Thing Below

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 33: The Thing Below**

While the others descended into the depths of the chasm, Kenta found himself left alone with Juri, Calumon, Tamerkato and Guilmon. All four of them were completely out of it - Juri was practically catatonic, Calumon was too busy panicking behind her back to notice anything going on around, and Guilmon was still out cold. Tamerkato was probably the only one who hadn't shut down mentally but he hadn't said or done anything since they got here. He may as well have shut down mentally since he just stayed by his partner and who was completely unconsciously. And he wasn't sure what he could to help any of them.

Kenta would've liked to not be in that position; to have gone down into the depths with the others, but knew that he'd probably only manage to slow the others down if he were there. After all, what did he have to contribute without a partner?

So he was stuck here, trying to think of something to say either of them. It was weird to try and talk to Juri - she was Takato's friend more than his. And Takato apparently wasn't even the real Takato. So what should he say to either of them? He scratched the back of his head - he may not be the real Takato but he'd spent the last year hanging around him. That was something at least. It beat trying to talk to Juri or the all mighty Sovereign digimon ho wrong around them.

"Hey Tak…Tamer," he began with his hands in his pocket, "How you holding up?"

"I'm sorry," he mumbled back quietly, not really looking back or talking to him. In fact, it seemed that he was talking to his partner Guilmon, "I let it happen again. I promised I never would again and instead it happened again. And I'm so sorry."

There was also a soft glow of warm light coming from Tamerkato - although Kenta wasn't really sure where it was coming from. He tried to peer over Tamerkato's shoulder to get a better look but the boy adjusted to keep it just out of view. He tried to peer over his shoulder again but the boy shifted once more to keep it out of sight. Tamerkato let out a small chuckle and added, "The worst part is you probably don't remember any of it, huh? Not the first time…not the second…"

Guilmon opened his eyes and quietly asked, "Remember what? Where are we anyway? Was I sleep walking again?"

"No buddy. It's my fault," Tamerkato answered, his chuckle replaced with a frown. He hugged his partner. Kenta was slightly relieve to see that they were alright. But what was that light? He wanted to ask but Tamerkato was really determined to not let any of them know he was a Guardian for whatever reason. Why all the sudden secrecy?

* * *

Azulongmon hovered over the crevice, surprised that he was going along with this absurd plan that the humans had come up with. Then again, he knew why he was going along with it. They couldn't wait for the Digimon Tamer to help them, they had no way of reaching the digidestined, and none of them actually knew how to use the Catalyst. This was as good a plan as any they could come up with. He just wished it wasn't so embarrassing for him.

The humans and their digimon were descending down the crevice atop their partners, intent to help Baihumon. With any luck, they'd either drive off whatever was down there or help to save their missing ally. Either way, hopefully the problem would resolve itself soon. He gazed down into the crevice, watching them descend and called down, "Are you okay?"

"It's kinda dark and there needs to be more light!" Kazu shouted back up.

A bolt of lightning shot up from within the depths of the crevice followed by another pillar of fire. Azulongmon moved out of its path and heard the kids below screaming in terror and protest as their flung around by his beard. After a moment of silence, Rika shouted, "Dammit Kazu! You just had to ask for light, didn't you!?"

"I didn't mean that kind of light. And seriously, stop shouting at me. You're making me look bad in front of Azulongmon! Also, what the hell was that?"

Rapidmon laughed, "I love your priorities! We're going into a part of the Digital World that even they're afraid to go to, with no idea what we're doing, and you're more worried about what his opinion of you."

"Are you kidding? Have you not seen the show? Or read the books? He's awesome!" Kazu fired back.

"Kazu, this isn't any of those things! This is real and you should take it seriously!" Henry added. Then Ryo, the boy who claimed to not be the Digimon Tamer, called out, "Focus guys! Whatever we're going to find down there scares the Sovereigns! How about we concentrate on that instead of arguing? Keep your eyes open down there!"

"I have no eyes. Just a hunger for battle," Cyberdramon growled.

"Yes, we noticed," Rapidmon pointed out.

"We should all be cautious," Taomon pointed out. Azulongmon began to reconsider his opinion that this group might be the hope that they're waiting for. No, everything would be fine. He just had to have faith in what destiny foretold. However, he'd known what reliance on destiny had done for those who came before. Should he have faith in it now?

* * *

Juri looked over from Tamer to Kenta to Guilmon...and felt nothing but useless. They probably didn't need her anymore. What use was she without a partner? What use was she when she couldn't keep a partner alive? This was her fault! It was all her fault.

Beelzemon lay unconscious just a few feet away. She wished he didn't. Being near him was a reminder of what happened. Being near Tamer was a reminder of what was. She hated it. Why'd she even come here? Everything she cared for died. She knew that for a fact. If she stuck around any longer, the others would die too. It's no wonder they were keeping their distance from her.

" _Target acquired...scanning...status: indeterminate._ "

"Juri?" she heard Calumon whimper out quietly, "Are...are you okay?"

No she wasn't. She shouldn't be near Calumon either. He'd end up just like Leomon if she stuck around. Just like her mother. What was the point of her?

" _Scanning for vulnerabilities."_

Vulnerabilities? She was probably the queen of that for all the trouble she caused. Her partner Leomon. Her classmate Takato. Her mother! Everything she came close to died.

" _Vulnerabilities found."_

She didn't want to be found. She wanted to go away. To be anywhere that wasn't here. So that she wouldn't hurt her friends. So that the people she cared about would stop dying.

" _Identifying insecurity type._ "

There was so much wrong with her.

" _Identification complete. Preparing transfer._ "

Take her away. Be anywhere but here.

"Juri! Juri! Please listen to me!" Calumon pleaded, "Juri!"

* * *

Kenta looked over his shoulder at Calumon shouting in a panic while Juri sat there with her eyes fixed on the ground. Tamerkato didn't even seem to notice, his eyes still fixed on Guilmon. But Guilmon, friendly dinosaur that he was, scrambled to his feet and walked over to investigate, "Juri? Are you okay?"

"Transfer complete," she answered quietly. Guilmon sniffed her and began to growl. Now Tamerkato was paying attention to her and he was quick to jump on his partner, "Guilmon, stop."

Guilmon's growling turned into bared fangs and Tamerkato had to start pulling his partner back. When he didn't make much headway, Kenta hurried over to help, "Tamer! Don't tell me you're still mad or something! This is the last thing Juri needs."

"A little, but not as mad as I was before! I have no idea what's up with Guilmon," he answered, taking a few deep breaths to try and calm himself. However, Guilmon continued to growl and snap at Juri. His bare fangs turned into an open mouth snap and an attempt to actually bite Juri, something Tamerkato stopped by slapping his mouth shut. Despite the attempt at her, the poor girl barely even reacted. Somehow, she appeared unfazed by what Guilmon had done. She even seemed indifferent to the danger she was in. Calumon however was still freaking out, before finally hopping out of her arms and scrambling towards the sovereigns. Calumon's panicked frenzy caught Zhuqiaomon's attention and he turned his head angrily, "What's happening?"

"Guilmon's being difficult!" Tamerkato answered loudly. Zhuqiaomon glided over to them and examined the dinosaur, "YOU! EXPLAIN YOURSELF!"

Guilmon let out another loud roar that Tamerkato had to slap his jaw shut again, "Sorry. When he gets likes this, he becomes wild. I'll get him under contro-WAAGH!"

Guilmon lunged at Juri with his mouth wide open, eyes focused solely on attacking her. He was only stopped when Calumon yelped, releasing a flash of light that blinded everyone. When the light faded, Guilmon crashed into the ground beside Juri, throwing Tamerkato off and sending both of them rolling along the ground.

Tamerkato scrambled to his feet before his partner could and Kenta joined him in trying to pin Guilmon to the ground, "Stop it Guilmon! What's gotten into you!? If you're hungry, I have bread in my bag!"

The digimon finally stopped struggling against them and repeated, "Bread? You have bread! Yay! I'm hungry!"

He leapt off them and helped Tamerkato up, mostly to go through his backpack better while he helped to himself to some food. Kenta took a moment to catch his breath before realizing Juri was still unmoving, staring down at the ground blankly. Then she jerked her head up to face him. Her eyes were somehow both vacant but staring with an uncharacteristic intensity that Kenta found chilling.

It was like a statue was staring at him and he hated it. He wanted to ask her to stop but was sure that she'd throw herself at him full force if he tried. So he sat there quietly, hoping that she would stop staring if he pretended to not notice. It didn't help. In fact, her continued staring became horrifying the longer it went on - like she was staring straight into his soul. She only stopped when Tamerkato helped lift her to a stand, "Juri! Are you okay? You're not hurt are you? I'm sorry. I have no idea what came over Guilmon. He's never done that before to anyone. Well, anyone who wasn't a digimon."

She jerked her head towards him next, and now it was Tamerkato's turn to be unsettled. Or should've been. He didn't even seem to notice anything was wrong with the way she was acting, instead droning on, "I swear, I'll make it up to you. I promise. Seriously though, you are okay right? The last thing I want on my conscious is to find out you've been hurt in some way."

"Are you all done? You're being loud and annoying. I'd smite you all if you weren't the best chance our world has at surviving at the moment," Zhuqiaomon asked. Tamerkato stepped away from Juri and shrugged, "I guess? Maybe he was hungry? I don't know."

Despite that, Calumon was still minding his distance with his big wide eyes brimming with tears. He approached Juri slowly, "Juri, are you okay?"

No answer. How could she be okay after everything they'd seen happen? Her partner killed, Tamerkato going into a blind rage that made her partner's killer powerless. And then he did something to Beelzemon. He didn't know but it broke the digimon mentally. Then Azulongmon comes along and blows Megidramon apart like it was nothing. On that note, he was impressed with how the rest of them were handling everything that had happened. This had been quite the day for everyone.

Tamerkato scooped up Calumon and stepped away from Juri, "Give her some space, Calumon. I think she wants to be alone right now."

* * *

Ryo leapt off his partner and dropped down to the ledge just below him. They'd gone down as far as their partners were carrying them and they were still nowhere near Baihumon or whatever he was fighting at the bottom. It must've been half a mile with how far above the light of the surface was; it was so far that the light barely reached this far down. If it weren't for the occasional flashes of lightning and fire, they wouldn't be able to see anything more than a few vague shadows moving in the dark. The flashes of lightning and fire were becoming more frequent too. Either they were getting closer to the source or the fighting was getting more intense. It was hard to say which of the two was worse.

Every one took a moment from that point to collect their thoughts and catch their breaths before they proceeded further down. Maybe it was just now sinking in how serious the situation was. Or maybe it was the nervous tension from not really knowing what they were about to go up against. Whichever it was, everyone was on the edge of their seat in anticipation.

They proceeded another mile, sticking as close to the sides as possible to avoid more arcs of lightning and blasts of fire. Not only that, but they also had to proceed single file as the crevice narrowed - likely from the fighting shifting loose earth and rock.

During those few gaps where there were no blasts of electricity or fire, they had to proceed in total darkness. They could only barely make out the light filtering in from the sky above and a soft red glow below. If hell were real, Ryo was sure that it was what awaited this far down. Maybe the devil was waiting to meet them?

"WHY WON'T YOU JUST STAY DEAD!? TAKE THIS! AND THIS! WE CAN DO THIS FOR AS LONG AS IT TAKES! I HAVE ALL ETERNITY!"

"We're getting close guys," Kazu announced, craning his neck to get a better glimpse of what exactly was going on beneath them. Despite that, it was still too far down to properly see and Kazu's shifting made it harder for anyone else to see either. Then Rapidmon pointed out, "Normally I let Henry be the stick in the mud, but I think it deserves pointing out that its really tight down here. This is going to become really messy if we need to fight."

"THEN WE GO FIRST!" Cyberdramon roared proudly, descending faster than the rest. Ryo smacked his partner and protested, "No we don't! We still don't know what to expect down there. We could be flying down in the Digital World's biggest trap."

"THERE'S NO WHERE TO GO BUT DOWN, RYO," Cyberdramon protested grumpily, "AND I GET THE FIRST PUNCH IN ANY FIGHT!"

Ryo raised an eyebrow, "Are you kidding? We're not even the first ones into the fight! Look, just slow down! Let Taomon and Rika go first!"

"Hey! Don't go volunteering us!" Rika shouted back at them angrily. Taomon laughed, "It's not like you to turn down a chance at a fight."

Ryo realized how that sounded and quickly explained "I didn't mean it like that. It's because you can throw up a shield, Taomon. You go first because you can throw up a shield to protect us from whatever is down there if it attacks. I mean, you held back Megidramon without breaking a sweat."

"Yes, and he was defeated by a Sovereign in one hit. And now we're going up against something that can take a Sovereign no problem. What chance do you possibly think any shield I could create has?"

Ryo felt stupid for even suggesting his idea now but he still didn't really like the idea of going first. He sighed, "Yeah, good point."

"Then it's settled! Me first!" Cyberdramon roared. Ryo yelped as his partner suddenly descended faster into the depths until the faint red glow of light became as bright as day. Ryo was right, it was like descending into hell. The chasm opened into a large cavern whose walls were scarred from battle and looked ready to collapse on top of them at any moment. Just below them was a tiger like digimon wearing a blue helm and followed by orbs of light that fired flares of lightning at a moving mass of what looked like red gelatin. The gelatinous ooze would rise up to try and strike the tiger, before bursting and unleashing a blast of fire onto the unsuspecting digimon. The two traded blows but it was obvious the mass of ooze was winning, slowly driving the tiger Sovereign back with every passing moment. For all the Sovereigns efforts, it seemed all he could really do was slow whatever the thing beneath them was.

"That looks like our missing Sovereign. What's the plan guys?" Rapidmon asked.

"What else would the plan be? Attack!" Kazu shouted, slapping his partner's back and signaling him to charge ahead. Guardromon obliged and dove straight down into the battle. And was promptly struck by a stray blast of electricity from Baihumon. And Kazu, holding on to his completely metal partner, convulsed violently until the arc passed through - both falling towards the goop of red mass. Right away, Rapidmon and Cyberdramon flew down to save them - snatching them both and rising back into the air before either got too close to whatever that red thing was.

The mass seemed to sense how close they were and rose after them before it collapsed on itself. For a moment, it really seemed to be alive and aware of their presence because a pillar of fire shot at them. Right away, Taomon flew in front of them and drew a symbol in the air with her brush, "Talisman Spell!"

A sphere of green light appeared around them, blocking the blast of fire and finally drawing Baihumon's attention, "Who are you and why are you here? ARE THOSE HUMANS!?"

"Hiya! We came down here to help! Or we did until Kazu and Guardromon got knocked out by your electricity," Rapidmon explained, gesturing at the two unconscious members of their party. Baihumon's eyes narrowed and he grunted, "If you want to help, stay out of my way. This enemy requires my full attention. Now, where was-NO! CLOSE BUT NOT QUITE!"

A blast of fire shot out from the blob towards Baihumon, who narrowly avoided getting struck, and hit the cavern wall just above them. The cavern shook and loose rocks fell down on them, bouncing off the shield and continuing downward until it hit the blob below. At first, it seemed the rocks injured the red mass as it writhed in pain. At least, that's how it looked until the rocks burst into data. The data didn't even linger, sinking into the red mass below like it were a digimon absorbing the data.

Ryo supposed that made sense. Everything in the Digital World was made of data so, in theory, something could absorb the data left over from destroyed bits of the Digital World. But then what was that thing? It wasn't any kind of digimon he'd seen but it was absorbing the data no problem. And what did it mean for them since they weren't from the Digital World? Could it harm and absorb them? Who knows how much of the Digital World had already been eaten by this thing. More terrifically, what chance did they have?

Baihumon was unfazed and unleashed another torrent of electricity at the red mass, striking the creature. On closer inspection, the parts hit with the electricity dissipated but only briefly. As quick as Baihumon could put dents on its surface, the red mass would regrow and continue its advance upon them.

Cyberdramon grumbled, "Are we just going to sit here and watch, or are we going to fight back!?"

"Right, of course. Here we go," Taomon waved her hand and let shield dissipate. Terriermon hung back with the unconscious Guardromon and Kazu tucked under his arms, leaving Taomon and Cyberdramon to go on the offensive. Taomon opened by drawing a character in the air with her brush, "Let's go with this! Bon-Hitsu-Sen! Talisman of Light!"

The symbol flew towards the red mass below them and exploded in a violent blast of light. Cyberdramon followed up the attack with a beam of red light from his claws, "DESOLATION CLAW!"

The attacks hit their mark and the red blob appeared to retreat for all of a moment. The two digimon cheered excitedly, "Alright! We hurt it!"

"YOU FOOLS! YOU ONLY ANNOYED IT!" Baihumon roared back at them. Ryo wasn't sure what that meant. After all, their attack had hurt it. It barely scratched it, but damage was damage. And this thing was barely fighting back. As long as they stayed out of reach, defeating it would be no problem!

At least, that's what Ryo though until the red mass regurgitated a red bubble that floated up towards them. They moved aside and let it past, watching it bump into the cavernous ceiling. And on contact, both dissipated into data before being absorbed by the D-Reaper.

"Okay, avoid the bubbles. Got it," Ryo grumbled, trying to think of what he could do to counter this new attack. If it could even be called that. It was more like a burp or fart - that is to say, it was disgusting but seemed harmless.

"GUYS! WATCH OUT!" Rapidmon called out to them. Cyberdramon jolted to the side as they narrowly avoided another bubble belched out from the red mass beneath them. And then another bubble narrowly avoided them. Baihumon had gone from the standing his ground to a full retreat, ascending towards them and shouting, "There's too much. Run! Now!"

Cyberdramon jerked upward again, and Ryo held on for dear life as they retreated upward. Baihumon was the last one up the chasm after them as more rocks collapsed from the ceiling. Behind them, Ryo could see the sovereign firing as much electricity into his surroundings as possible to narrow the chasm behind him. But the bubbles continued their pursuit. In all his years traveling the Digital World, this was a first for him: running for his life from bubbles.

It would be funny if he didn't know his life was in some kind of mortal peril. If the fate of the Digital World wasn't in peril What exactly was his life right now? Or rather, what had his life become?

He glanced down once more to see the chasm narrowing behind them only to see it reopening as more bubbles destroyed the loose earth and stone raining down on top of. This thing, whatever it was, was eating threw the rock as fast as Baihumon could bury it. Even with the weight of the Digital World collapsing on top of it, it continued to advance upon them without slowing down. They had to do something though. If they didn't, this thing was going to escape. But their partners were already at the Ultimate level and that wasn't enough. And no amount of power ups were ever going to match a mega. So what else was there to do?

He would've looked through his cards but there was no way he could hold on to Cyberdramon and shuffle his deck at the same time. He'd just have to hold on and hope they got away before

"AAAHHH!"

Ryo glanced upwards and his eyes widened in terror, "RIKA!"

She was falling and Taomon was right behind her. He tried to grab her as she fell past him but she was too far away to be reached. So he watched, powerless as she fell downward towards the swarm of red blobs coming after them and hoping Taomon was fast enough.

* * *

It was a careless mistake. An accident. Rika's grip slipped as Taomon accelerated upwards and she fell downward towards the red mass. Ryo tried to grab her as she fell past but she couldn't reach. And his eyes widened in terror. She'd seen what that the blob could do to the Digital World. What chance did she have? None. That thing was going to kill her the moment she made contact.

Wind rushed past and her heart raced so fast that she could hear it in her ears. During that brief moment she was in free fall, she glanced upwards at Taomon diving down to save her. And a calm washed over her as she realized that her partner was gaining. She was going to make it. She trusted her partner. She would save her. They were partners. That was what they'd promised each other. She reached out to Taomon as the digimon got closer, knowing that they'd make it if they reached out just a little more. Her fingers brushed Taomon's fingers for a brief second and-

A blast of fire shot past them, loosing a rock that struck Taomon in the back. After everything they'd been through today, that strike was probably the last straw as she regressed back to Renamon. Now it didn't matter it Renamon caught her. She couldn't fly.

No, that wasn't true. She just had to believe in her partner. Renamon was still trying to save her. She hadn't given up. And neither would she. They outstretched their hands towards each other, brushing fingers a few times before they finally clasped on to each other. Right away, Rika felt a warmth inside of her she hadn't felt before. Her heart beat grew louder - her digivice began to glow.

"Biomerge Digivolution," It announced. And the light wrapped around her. Renamon's voice cried out, "Renamon! Biomerge to!"

She felt something warm wrap around her - enveloping her in golden armor and black leather. She felt a weight on the back of her head and in her arms - a metal staff and helm wrap around her, "Sakuyamon!"

Her head spun wildly as the world turned upside-down and corrected to right-side up. She felt light and like she was flying. It took her a moment longer to understand why - she was flying in the air. She was flying. In the air. How was that even possible?

" _Are you okay, Rika?"_ Renamon's voice echoed. She looked around in search of her partner but found nothing, "Renamon?"

" _I'm here Rika. Or rather, we're here,"_ she answered. Rika looked around, "Where?"

" _This is DNA Digivolution. Or Jogress. It's only ever been done between digimon. I never would've thought it could be done between human and digimon,"_ Renamon's voice echoed inside her head, " _It really is something different to have to be inside your head like this."_

Inside her head. Renamon was inside her head, "Or maybe I'm inside yours."

"LOOK OUT!" Ryo's cry snapped her attention back to the swarm of rising bubbles. Almost as if on instinct, Rika felt her body propel itself upwards to the others. And that was when she noticed the staff she was holding in her hand. She had no idea where this staff came from. Taomon hadn't been holding one when they came down here and Renamon certainly didn't need one. It must've been a part of the digivolution - like Taomon's brush or Beelzemon's shotgun. Yeah, that's what it had to be.

But how to use it? She could only think to swing it and felt embarrassed by the fact that this was the kind of plan the goggle head would come up with. With a twirl, she tried beating back the encroaching bubble and watched a wave of light stream out from the base, "Amethyst Mandala!"

She didn't cry that out. But she did. Her voice acted on its own. Or maybe Renamon had forced it. Either way, the stream of light spread out and split amongst the various red blobs floating upward - shattering them like glass and weakening the structure of the crevice walls so that loose stone came tumbling down on top of any digimon unfortunate enough to be standing in the way.

Then silence.

Nothing else was coming up. But that wasn't going to hold them for long. Eventually, they would just eat their way through and they'd be back in the same problem all over again. They needed to get back to the rest of them and explain what just happened. The whole trip up, she tried her best to ignore the fact that the others were staring at her - but she knew why. She'd done the impossible. She had become one with her partner and become Sakuyamon.

"Renamon?" she thought quietly, "Can you hear me?"

" _Yes, although this is going to take some getting used to. It's…different, having to share a mind and body,"_ Renamon's voice echoed. What did that mean? Sure, they shared a body but they weren't sharing a mind. Were they? The more she thought on it, the more confusing it became. She tried to recall something only Renamon would but it made her head hurt.

Like the time she was traveling alone in the desert zone after a group of Chrysalimon ganged up on her. Wait, that didn't happen. Did it?

This was more confusing than the time she'd gotten herself wrapped into a marriage ceremony with a WereGarurumon. Wait, that definitely didn't happen.

" _Are you alright?"_ Renamon's voice echoed. Rika tried to shake the dizzying headache but it was hard to focus on anything, "I think so? I keep remembering things that didn't happen."

" _They did happen Rika. Because those are my memories. You can see into my mind. As I can see into yours. I can see Ryo is very important to you. Before me, he was your only friend. Or at least, the one person you saw as a friend_ ," Renamon answered quietly. That revelation gave her pause as she realized that her mind was an open book to her partner. But if anyone should know her deepest darkest secrets, who better than her partner Renamon? Then she gasped, "Wait! You never told me you were going to get married!"

" _You never asked. Besides, what would it have mattered if I had? I thought that kind of thing didn't even matter to you?_ "

If she was at all capable of blushing like this, she really hoped it wasn't obvious as she averted her attention away from the others. She was just glad no one could hear what she was thinking right now. The last thing she wanted was for any of them to be able to see how much of an open book she was. At least, until she noticed Ryo staring at her again, "What?"

"Sorry, just…taking in everything that's happened today," he replied sheepishly, scratching the back of his head anxiously, "I'm glad you're alright, Rika. Er, Sakuyamon. Come on, we should get these guys back up to the surface of the Digital World before things go crazy again."

Rika nodded. Or rather, Sakuyamon nodded. It was hard to think of herself as being one of two people. Or for her to be sharing a body with her partner Renamon. It wasn't a bad thing, it just...felt different. Or rather, it didn't feel different.

" _You know I can hear your thoughts, right?_ " Renamon's voice echoed in her mind. Rika forgot that they were also sharing a mind now, "So does that mean you know I'm wondering when you were going to get married?"

" _Why? Curious?_ " Renamon asked.

"You know the answer."

" _Well then, let me start at the beginning..._ "

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Their first encounter with the thing ends with defeat, but they've awoken a new form of digivolution! Will this tip the odds in their favor? Can they defeat the nameless monster from the abyss below? And will Juri snap out of her stupor? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 due out in three weeks on Friday December 27th at 8 PM CST. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section! I also welcome constructive criticism and speculation on future chapter! And hey, if you liked it, then how about favoriting the story to show support and following to keep up with all the latest updates? That's all I have for now, so let's look at some previews for the next chapter!

 _The giant rabbit Deva Antylamon turned her head to the side and announced, "There's an intruder in the eastern sector."_

" _Are you sure?" Zhuqiaomon asked. The other sovereigns and Devas all looked in the same direction, inspecting the horizon for whatever caught Antylamon's attention. After a moment, the flat faced dog declared, "I sense nothing."_

" _I hear it," Antylamon's ears perked up, perking up on her head towards the different directions, "I'll go investigate."_


	34. The Siblings Lee

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 34: The Siblings Lee**

Xiaochun tried to entertain herself with her many dolls but instead found herself wondering if her brother and Terriermon were okay. It was all her fault wasn't it? She was supposed to keep Calumon safe and instead she got him kidnapped. If she had just been better at keeping Calumon a secret and protecting him, maybe none of this would've happened. But she wasn't. She just wished that she could've done something besides sit there and cry. Now her big brother and Terriermon were out there all alone trying to clean up her mistake. And that wasn't fair to them. Even she knew that. She just wished there was something she could do about it.

Something that could be done. She stopped playing with her dolls long enough to stare out the window, wondering what her brother and Terriermon were doing now. By now, they were probably in the Digital World - either playing with nice digimon or fighting more mean digimon. Like that Impmon or the scary horsey from the other day. That was the worst part.

Just thinking about it scared her. She shook her head of those thoughts - wishing and praying to be of some use to the others. So that she could make up for her mistake. Then she heard a soft beeping noise, "What was that?"

"What was what?" her mother asked. There was another beep. Couldn't her mother hear that? Xiaochun stood up and listened carefully for the beeps, "There it is again! It sounds like its coming from daddy's office."

"Xiaochun, you know you're not allowed in there," her mother said softly, but she was too busy already following the beeping noise. She had no idea how her mother was unable to hear that noise with how loud it was. And it was only getting louder. Before her mother could stop her, she made her way into daddy's office and examined the source of the noise: her dad's computer. He didn't normally leave it on when he wasn't in here but there it was - on and running. The screen looked really funny though. Usually, it just displayed some fancy weird programs but this time it was a black screen with a lot of numbers running across it. Upon closer inspection, it was all ones and zeroes. She peered at the computer closely, just as her mommy shouted, "Xiaochun! I said not to go into your father's office!"

None of that registered. An image of Jiangliang and Terriermon flashed on the screen. Her brother and his digimon! They were on daddy's computer! Were they in trouble? Maybe she could help. Daddy always used his computer when he helped them.

She looked at the keyboard and tapped a few of the buttons with her fingers, wondering if that was doing anything. Nothing. Just the same numbers running past with occasional images of Henry and Terriermon. And there was something else - a flying red bird and a blue dragon. She wanted to help them, but she didn't know how to do that. If only she could be there.

She wanted to be there. The room was suddenly very bright and she closed her eyes to block it out; raising up her hand when that proved fruitless. The beeps grew louder until they were deafening.

* * *

The giant rabbit Deva Antylamon turned her head to the side and announced, "There's an intruder in the eastern sector."

"Are you sure?" Zhuqiaomon asked. The other sovereigns and Devas all looked in the same direction, inspecting the horizon for whatever caught Antylamon's attention. After a moment, the flat faced dog declared, "I sense nothing."

"I hear it," Antylamon's ears perked up, perking up on her head towards the different directions, "I'll go investigate."

"I'll come too," the dog added, stretching his legs in preparation of a pursuit. The two digimon took off into the distance, leaving the rest of them behind. Kenta's shoulders slumped, "What's with them?"

Azulongmon lowered himself to their level so he could explain, "Very few digimon are brave enough to come to this area of the Digital World. Most of them know we're here - others simply because the rest are too afraid to approach. Someone decided to try. Either they're really brave or they're really stupid to think coming here is a good idea."

"Personally, I think it'd be nice to have more guests. It would improve out current company," Ebonwumon's head remarked of the other head, "I'm just happy to be included."

"You're the same person!" Zhuqiaomon grumbled, watching the digimon disappear into the distance, "Those two better come back alive."

Kenta folded his arms and wondered if the others were okay. On that line, he was wondering if there was anything he would actually be able to do to help. He came to help get Calumon back and so far had done little more than be a weight on the team. He didn't have a partner like Kazu and he had no clue what he was doing unlike the others. He wanted to help - to be of more use to the team. But how could he do that without a partner? He could barely talk to either Juri or Tamerkato.

The earth trembled and the crevice cracked open wider as the rest of the team emerged from the depths with a white tiger. They looked worse for wear and struggled to get their bearings, Cyberdramon and Rapidmon collapsing on landing. Kazu and Guardromon were laid down on the ground, unconscious from whatever fight had transpired deep below them. There was someone else though, a beautiful woman in golden armor wearing a fox shaped helm. If Kenta had to guess, it was one of Renamon's digivolutions like Gatomon and Angewomon. But then where was Rika?

The tiger let out a somber roar, "It wasn't enough."

Azulongmon joined the tiger, "Baihumon. What happened down there?"

"I could only slow it down. I was doing well too until these interlopers got in my way!"

"We saved your life!" the golden armored woman shouted at him. Baihumon roared in anger, "I didn't require saving! Especially not by the likes of you, human!"

"That's not how it looked from up here," the woman barked angrily. The two readied to attack each other when Ryo jumped in the middle, "Cool it you two. We've got enough problems without trying to kill each other. Take it from me."

Kenta scratched his head, trying to figure out what was going on and made his way over to Henry, "Glad to see you guys are back. What happened down there?"

"Man, where do I begin? It's a hell of a story," Henry scratched the back of his head, looking just as lost and confused as Kenta felt. Kenta was sure there was a story to tell, too. He sighed and scratched his head, only now realizing that Tamerkato had taken a sudden interest in what was going on.

* * *

The Devas Caturamon and Antylamon ran as quickly as they could to reach the source of the disturbance. If it was the creature that had scared their lords, they were most certainly running to their doom. And if it wasn't, then the question became who was bold enough to come out here or stupid enough to wander in without realizing?

It didn't take long for them to reach the furthest edge of the sector where they found a little human girl with pigtails wandering along aimlessly. She was a small fragile little thing who could only stare up in surprised disbelief at them, "Oh wow. You're all so big. Are you friends of Terriermon? You must be! Just look at those big bunny ears!"

Antylamon was taken aback in surprise of the little girl's declaration - and was suddenly very self conscious of the fact that her ears were flopping behind her. She had never met this girl before, but the girl knew what a Terriermon was of all things. And one was partnered with the human. Perhaps there was a connection?

Caturamon looked from the little girl to his fellow Deva and grumpily asked, "Antylamon, do you have something to do with this?"

Antylamon took immediate offense, "Why would I have anything to do with this?"

"She was pointing at you. You tell me," Caturamon answered quietly. Antylamon's eyes narrowed, unsure how to interpret Caturamon's accusation and scoffed, "She's obviously connected to the other humans. Excuse me. Little girl. Who are you?"

"Mommy says I shouldn't talk to strangers," the little girl said back, "I'm not even supposed to give you my name. So why would I do that? By the way, do you know where I am? I have to go back or I'll get into trouble with my mommy and daddy."

Antylamon was dumbstruck. Then what the hell was the little girl doing? She wasn't supposed to talk to strangers so she just kept on talking to strangers? More importantly, why was Antylamon wasting her time trying to understand the logic of a little girl? She groaned and scooped the girl up in her giant hand, "No offense kid, but I've got better things to do than waste time trying to figure out what the hell you're babbling about. So we're going to get out of here while we-"

"STRANGER DANGER!" the little girl yelped out, jumping from Antylamon's hand and scrambling away before the giant bunny understood what was happening. It didn't help that Caturamon remarked, "She's getting away."

"Are you going to just stand there or are you going to help?" Antylamon remarked, taking off after the girl and stopping just in front of her before she got too far away, "Look kid. I don't really have time for your games."

"As opposed to what?" Caturamon added quietly, finally breaking Antylamon's patience, "Are you going to contribute anything besides your unwanted sarcasm or am I going to have to beat you senseless!?"

That seemed to be the final straw for the little girl who suddenly burst out in tears. The headaches were just piling up for Antylamon who couldn't think of anything more she wanted to do than just walk away from this whole thing. Her headache was so bad, she could feel herself shaking in anger and frustration.

The little girl stopped crying and Caturamon jumped, "Why is the ground shaking?"

A sinking feeling appeared in the pit of her stomach and pure instinct kicked in. She scooped up the little girl again and leapt towards Caturamon just as the ground gave away, cracking open and allowing a red gel like substance to seep out. Antylamon's mouth hang open as the red mass spewed out like of the ground like a gelatinous blob, "What is that?"

"Lava?" the little girl remarked curiously. Lava would've been hot and they would've caught fire just from being this close to it. Whatever this was, it wasn't lava. In fact, it seemed to be almost alive. She leapt back towards Caturamon but it seemed even the dog Deva was caught unaware of whatever this thing was, "I don't know what that is but I don't like for it. We should leave now."

The blob belched out a large red bubble that drifted gently towards them, striking the ground and causing a massive hole to appear where there had once been dirt. Antylamon gasped, "What in the sovereigns' names?"

"Inquisition later. Flight now!" Caturamon turned on his heels and ran. Antylamon made sure to hold the little girl tight, "Hang on. We need to go!"

She ran too, running as fast as her feet could carry her just as the ground behind them opened up for more of the red mass to breakthrough. They had a pretty good lead on it though and it didn't seem to be moving very fast. Maybe they'd be able to escape. At least that was what she thought until the ground ahead of them broke open and more of the red mass began to seep out. Caturamon slid to a stop and growled, "This abomination seems intelligent. This way!"

He turned and started running along side the forming crack in the crust of the Digital World, trying to get ahead of it so he could get around. It was no good, though. They may have been Devas but the crack was forming faster than either of them could move. Even at a full sprint, Antylamon could just barely catch up to the forming crack, "We're never going to outrun it! We need to leap across!"

"Yes, of course!" Caturamon agreed, both eyeing the growing crevice for a good opening to leap across. It was simpler said than done though, as the gap seemed to widen the longer they tried to outrun the growing crack. And the red blob behind them was relentless in its pursuit, doing all it could to keep breaking open the earth just ahead of them. It didn't take long for Caturamon to shout, "It's no good! We have to jump! You go first Antylamon! Bring the girl to safety! I'll make a distraction!"

He broke away and started running in the opposite direction, making the crack break open further to follow him. Whatever this thing was, it was smart enough to understand that it needed to follow them. Predatory instinct. Was this the creature that had so scared the Sovereigns? That drove them to desperation? She shuddered at the thought that the thing that had their masters so scared could be about took destroy them. No, it would. It will. This thing was like a predator - relentless, yet patient. It had so many chances to swallow them but it wasn't. Was it toying with them? Or was this part of some greater scheme?

"Howl of the Heavens!" Caturamon howled at the top of his lungs, creating a shockwave that broke apart the ground, disrupting the cracks from forming any more fluidly. That was their opening. Antylamon turned on a dime and leapt as far as she could to get over the gap before it grew any larger, glancing back over her shoulder only to watch Caturamon being surrounded by the red blob. He bowled at the top of his lungs and declared, "Long live the Sovereigns! May they reign forever!"

It was a futile show of defiance against an enemy that didn't understand or care what Caturamon's dying words were. She looked ahead again and watched the ground give way where she was going to land, making an opening for the red blob to attack. _She_ wasn't going to make it. _They_ weren't going to make it. Even she knew that. The girl had to live. If she was a _digidestined_ …if she was _chosen_ like the others were, she could be instrumental in the saving of their world. And that made her life more valuable than her own, "Hang on kid! Tuck and roll when you land!"

She whipped her hand holding the little girl back and threw with all her might towards the far end of the gap. The little girl has ignored her advice though and wound up tumbling forward into the sand until she stopped short of a rock. At least she was safe. Now it was Antylamon's turn. She used her free hand to dig into the crevice wall before it opened up any larger, using the momentum of her fall to create her own personal hand hold into the wall. But she was too close to the red blob and she could feel it already beginning to eat at her feet. The pain channeled it's way up her body and became screams of pure agony from her mouth.

* * *

Rapidmon turned his attention towards the East where the two Devas ran off to earlier, "Huh, that's weird. I swear I just heard Xiaochun a second ago. It's really weird. I mean, I know she's not there. She's back in the human world. But it has to be her. Only she could be calling bunny's cute. And saying she shouldn't talk to strangers."

Henry didn't want to believe that announcement, but now wasn't the time to start being skeptical. Even if Rapidmon had gotten it wrong, the fact was that someone in that direction sounded like his sister. And could very well mean it was his sister. His eyes scanned the horizon in the direction Rapidmon had said and patted his partner's back, "I doubt it's her, but it wouldn't hurt to investigate it. Unfortunately-"

He looked back at Ryo trying to talk down both Sakuyamon and Baihumon from attacking each other - and it was going about as well as possible when Cyberdramon was itching to join the fight about to happen. Kenta sighed and scratched his head, "I know what you mean. Think we should get Ryo out of there before he gets flattened?"

"I sense a threat," Baihumon declared, turning his head off into the distance, "It can't be."

"We're not done here!" Sakuyamon spat at it as the tiger turned towards the distance. The tiger grumbled, "I think it broke through. I thought I was buying us time but all it was doing was distracting me."

Henry didn't like the sound of that. Xiaochun was possibly that way, "Rapidmon and I are going to check it out."

Ryo looked at him with wide eyed shock, "Are you sure that's a good idea? We just got out of the fight of our lives. I've been in the Digital World a long time and between the Dark Masters, Milleniummon, and every other evil creature out there, I don't think I've seen anything that absorbed everything it touched. Hell, we couldn't even hurt it. All Rika-"

Sakuyamon turned at the sound of her name and looked at him.

"-I mean, all Sakuyamon was able to do was bury a chunk of the Digital World on top of it."

"Just like WarGreymon," Ebonwumon's second head remarked solemnly. Tamerkato stood up at that and joined Rapidmon, "Are you sure you heard Xiaochun?"

"I'd recognize her voice anywhere. And she sounds scared," Rapidmon nodded certainly, his ears twitching to some invisible tune they couldn't hear, "Yeah, she's definitely scared."

"Then we'd better go check it out," Tamerkato nodded, "GUILMON!"

The red dinosaur pulled his head out of Tamerkato's bag, blinking innocently as a half eaten loaf of bread hung out of his mouth. He seemed to be doing better given everything that had transpired from Tamerkato's brief of stint of madness. As for Juri, she didn't seem to be doing much better. In fact, she seemed to have completely spaced out of whatever was going on. He glanced over at Ruki or Sakuyamon, who also noticed Juri and shared what he was thinking. She nodded, "Go check it out. We'll keep an eye on things here."

She said that while gesturing at Juri. Henry nodded and climbed up onto Rapidmon's shoulder, "Okay, we'll hurry back."

Tamerkato and Guilmon climbed on to Rapidmon's back as well, the ultimate level digimon obviously uneasy about those two being so close after everything that happened previously. Still they took off as fast as they could towards whatever noise Rapidmon had heard. Henry tried his best to hide it but he was sweating bullets. After all, they were about to go up against another round with the monster they were barely able to beat last time. And if that was the case, what chance did they have now.

* * *

Zhenyu Lee went over the code with his colleagues, unsure if any thing they'd written in the last few hours was actually any good. However, a lot of what they were doing was guess work. Izumi, the two Ichijoujis were the only other members of the team with any clue what they were doing and it was safe to say that not a lot of progress was going to be made. After all, what was the point of having a whole government agency if less than half the agency had any practical knowledge that didn't involve guns and shooting. It didn't help that Izumi was on too many pain meds to actually think critically for long, the husband of the Ichijouji couple hadn't returned in some time, and the wife was clearly not at their level when it came to the computer work.

That wasn't to say she was an idiot by any measure. By all accounts, she could keep up with the rest of them when it came to the programming side of things. But she didn't have the knowledge to rip open the fabric of reality like Izumi did. And between her and the other 'Monster Makers', it was obvious that they were all just stumbling in the dark when it came to this kind of stuff.

Still, every second they spent on the problem was another second their kids wouldn't be stuck in another world. Or day. Or whatever amount of time was passing over on the other side. He only stopped when he received a sudden and unexpected phone call from his wife, "Dear, I'm busy at the moment. Can I-"

"Xiaochun is gone!" she shouted. He pulled the phone away from his ear to keep from going deaf but the news made his heart sink. He waited a moment longer after she was done panicking to ask, "Dear, what are you talking about?"

"She's gone! She said your computer was making noise, but I didn't hear a thing. I told her to leave it alone but she went into your office. I tried to stop her but then your computer started glowing, there was a light, and then she was gone! I've looked in the entire apartment and I've even asked the neighbors! I can't find her! She's gone Zhenyu!"

"Gone," he repeated stupidly, lowering the phone. How could she be gone? Light from the computer? No, it couldn't have been. He raised the phone up to his ear, "Hang on a minute."

He made his way over to Izumi, who was busy trying to rework the formulas for his Juggernaut weapon while his wife poured him a cup of tea, "Izumi! Can I borrow your communication device for a moment?"

"The D-Terminal? Sure I guess. What's wrong?" she answered, producing the odd communication device from her purse and passing it to him. The device was simple enough to understand - like a flip phone with a built in keyboard. But with the technology to communicate between worlds, he was sure there was more inside of it than just a wireless receiver. He opened it, scrolling past a lengthy series of texts from their daughter, and started typing a message, "To whoever gets this. This is Henry's dad. Is Henry's sister in the Digital World with you?".

It only took a moment for a reply to come back, " _Yes. She showed up a little while ago and she's got a rabbit with her._ "

Zhenyu's heart sank even deeper into his chest but also felt awash in relief, "Damn."

He returned the device to Mrs. Izumi and returned to his wife, "Honey, I think I know where she is. I'm going to find her and bring her home but it's going to take me a while."

"You do? Where is she Zhenyu?"

"She's with Henry," he answered. Her silence spoke volumes. His project as a college student was coming back to bite him and his kids. He wasn't sure what he was going to do about it. Izumi's wheeled his way over to him and elbowed him, "Don't worry - your son and my daughter will take good care of her. They'll keep her safe. And we'll get them out of there as soon as possible."

* * *

Henry, Rapidmon, Tamerkato, and Guilmon were stunned into silence at the sight of an endless red blob expanding forward out of the chasms reaching deep into the Digital World. Rapidmon especially groaned, "We just got away from that thing and now it's here!"

"It must've escaped through another part of the Digital World after Rika...Sakuyamon cut off its only escape before," Henry surmised. He scanned the ground anxiously, looking for whatever Rapidmon had heard but dodgy deer anything of booger in this sea of red. Then Tamerkato pointed at the ground and shouted, "Down there!"

Henry could feel the color run out of his face when he saw what he was pointing at. It was his sister Xiaochun standing by herself at the edge of a crevice, peering down at Antylamon who was hanging on for dear life while both were surrounded by endless red sea of gelatinous blob everywhere. Meanwhile, Caturamon was nowhere to be seen. Henry called out to her, "Xiaochun!"

"Henry! Help! The bunny is in trouble!" Xiaochun cried back up.

"Go in low! Guilmon and I will go in first to make an opening. Then you two go rescue them," Tamerkato said. Henry pointed out the red mass at him, "Are you insane? We've seen what that red blob does to the Digital World around it! It literally deletes everything it touches! You're dead if you get too close to that thing!"

"Don't worry about us. Now go!" Tamerkato said. Henry looked at Rapidmon and nodded, the flying rabbit remarking, "You two are insane. You know that, right?"

"When did you lose your nerve Rapidmon?" Tamerkato asked with that frustrating smile of his. Rapidmon rolled his yes, "Around the time that thing tried to eat us!"

"Moumantai!" Tamerkato fired back. Rapidmon was struck, knowing his catchphrase had just been used against him and he dove down towards the ground, "Fine! But don't go anywhere near that thing!"

When he was just above the endless sea of the red blob, Tamerkato held up his digivice for Guilmon, "Digimodify! Digivolution Activate!"

"Guilmon! Warp Digivolve to! WarGrowlmon!"

Rapidmon dropped the red dinosaur as the added weight of his ultimate form came to bare and he had to drop the digimon on the ground. Right off the bat, WarGrowlmon opened with a beam of light aimed straight at the red blob as Tamerkato leapt onto his partners back, "Atomic Blaster!"

The beam of light cleared a path on the ground and WarGrowlmon angled himself so that beam continued forwards, striking the red mass and creating a clearing in the sea of red for Rapidmon to land. Henry leapt off his partner to join Xiaochun, trying to avoid the reforming gelatinous mass as it swept back to retake lost ground.

"Rapid Fire!"

"Atomic Blaster!"

They were keeping the red mass at bay for now, but he couldn't waste time. He picked up his little sister as soon as he got to her, "We have to go, now!"

"But Henry! Look! The bunny's in trouble!" she protested, pointing down the cliffside at Antylamon who was struggling against the red mass starting to eat at her leg. It had already worked its way up to her knee and showed no signs of stopping. All around them, the red mass was getting closer and they were running out of room. They had to go now or they were going to be in trouble, "I'm sorry, Xiaochun. There's no time!"

She answered by hitting him so hard in the chest that he dropped her. She scrambled up to her feet, "You're mean! She helped me! You have to help her!"

"Xiaochun, if we don't go now, we're going to end up just like her!" he pleaded with her, trying to make her understand. But either she didn't understand or she didn't care. Either way, she turned and ran towards the edge of the cliff, "Fine! Then I'll help her myself!"

She reached down as far as she could, offering a hand to the rabbit, "Here! Let me help!"

"Xiaochun!" Henry shouted, running after his little sister to pull her back. Just as he took the first steps, the ground gave way around her and collapsed. The crevice was getting bigger and his little sister had just fallen in. His legs ran faster and his arms reached out, trying to grab her before she fell. Their fingers were just inches apart and it was too late to reach her. She was falling in. In a panic, he leapt in after her and only realized the stupidity of his idea after he'd grabbed hold of her. The only thing between them and that red mass below was a few feet of empty air.

He closed his eyes, holding Xiaochun close to spare her from seeing their demise just as they hit something soft. He opened his eyes again and saw they were in the free hand of Antylamon, "Don't worry. I have you!"

It took Henry a moment too long to realize what had happened. With ears that big, she must've heard how he planned to leave her but she still saved them. He held Xiaochun tighter, "Why?"

"She's a nice rabbit! I told you Henry!" his little sister insisted.

Rapidmon appeared over the edge of the cliff side, "Henry!"

"Rapidmon! We're here!" Henry called back up. Rapidmon looked around them and groaned, "Geez, this is the day that just keeps on giving. Hang on! Rapid Fire!"

He descended downward, unleashing a blaze of machine gun fire all around them, "I'm going to clear some space!"

"We need to help Antylamon too!" Henry shouted back up. Rapidmon looked down at him again, "Are you kidding me? I can't carry all of you guys plus WarGrowlmon and Antylamon at the same time!"

"Forget about me. Save yourselves. You're the only hope my world has!" Antylamon finally managed to grunt out as she raised them up to Rapidmon. The flying digimon used a free arm to lift them up, "You heard the lady! Let's get out of here!"

"No! Rapidmon! We can't leave her!" Xiaochun protested again, pleading through tears and cries.

"We're not leaving her!" Henry barked back. Rapidmon stopped firing to look at his partner. The two of them stared at each other for the longest time and both trying to read the other. This had never been something that was difficult for either of them but for the first time, both of them were of different minds than they usually were. Rapidmon wanted to flee the danger, and he wanted to run straight into it. Both knew this and were amused at the sudden switch in mindsets. Rapidmon asked, "When did you become the one who wanted to do something dangerous?"

"Around the time you wouldn't stop saying Moumantai," Henry said back. Rapidmon laughed, shoulders slumping as he looked back down at Antylamon, "Oh man, we are going to die. Okay, hang on!"

"You can do it!" Henry declared, realizing how insane he must've been to advocate for running straight into danger like this. Still, Antylamon had saved his sister not once but twice. They may not have gotten along with the Devas but they owed this Deva their lives. He couldn't just leave her to die. He could hear his heart beating in his ears from the blood rushing to his head. He held Xiaochun tight with one arm and held onto Rapidmon with the other, determined to save the Deva. Unaware to both partners, his digivice was erupting with light.

"Rapidmon! Biomerge to! MegaGargomon!"

Henry had no idea when it happened but the light flashed and he felt a strange sensation over come him. He'd become larger in size and Xiaochun was no longer around his arm. Rather, she was in the palm of his hand. His massive, green metal hand, "Wait, what just happened?"

" _I don't know but it feels weird,_ " Terriermon's voice echoed somewhere.

"Terriermon? Is that you?"

" _Yeah...huh...you have a lot of anxiety about grades. And your parents. And getting killed. What's up with that?_ " Terriermon's voice repeated. Henry took another moment to examine his massive size, especially Xiaochun who was staring up with wide eyed awe, "Henry! Is that you? Or are you Rapidmon?"

"I…maybe? I really don't know," Henry answered.

" _This must've been what happened to Rika and Renamon. It feels really weird_ ," Terriermon's voice echoed, " _You've really got a lot of anxiety about grades and impressing your dad. Do you want to talk about it partner?"_

"Get out of my head," Henry snapped.

" _It's our head, now,"_ Terriermon remarked. He was right. It was their head. He added, " _Of course I'm right. Duh! Oh wow. There's a lot thinking going on in here. Is this why you're so quiet all the time?"_

Wait, how did that happen? " _I can hear your thoughts!"_

"Will you stop that?" Henry snapped again. Xiaochun pushed against his finger, "Terriermon! We have to help the bunnymon! She's in trouble!"

" _I think her name's Antylamon but you're right_ ," Terriermon corrected.

"Right! Here we come!" Henry shouted closing his hand around Xiaochun to protect her before descending downward into the fray. He needed to dislodge the red blob's hold around Antylamon. But how? "Gargo Missile!"

Two missiles erupted from his shoulder and blew up the space around Antylamon. The red blob seemed to lurch from the attack and retreated away releasing Antylamon but revealing one leg already missing from the knee down. Henry was at a loss, "Did I do that?"

" _We did that,_ " Terriermon remarked. He had to focus. Still, she was free and the rabbit used her last leg to kick herself out of the ravine. She landed just on the edge, hobbling on her one leg before collapsing onto the ground. The red mass was on the attack again, moving to surround her. Henry rose back into the air to land by herself, "Mega Barrage!"

Another barrage of missiles came out of his body and blew apart the surrounding red mass, clearing an opening for them. Once Henry descended, Xiaochun demanded to be let go so she could join Antylamon. The moment Henry let her go, though, the ground cracked open again at her feet between her and Antylamon. The red mass moved straight for the defenseless little girl.

"ARM BOMBER!" Antylamon's arms came to life with light and she threw herself forward on to the red blob - destroying it with one swift blow to its side, "Leave the girl alone!"

Once again, Antylamon had saved Xiaochun's life. But that last effort must've been too much for the digimon. She collapsed onto the ground and her eyes closed - body dissipating into data and leaving behind a small brown version of Terriermon. Xiaochun's gasped, "Bunnymon! No!"

She picked up the small bunny, pulling her away from the danger around them. Henry scooped them both up as quickly as she could, scanning around for Tamerkato and WarGrowlmon. Thankfully, the two of them were just a small distance away and fighting their way towards them. Another barrage of missiles would clear a path forward, "Mega Barrage!"

The missiles hit their mark and cleared another path for the three to rejoin. Tamerkato looked up with a smile at Henry, "Nice digivolution, Rapidmon."

"I'm in here too," Henry answered. Tamerkato's eyes narrowed, "Who? Wait, Henry!?"

" _Boy, you should take a look at your face_ ," Terriermon said aloud. Henry scooped him up, "We can talk about this later. WarGrowlmon! Hop on!"

WarGrowlmon latched onto his back and Henry kicked off the ground, ascending skyward just as the red mass closed in around on where they had been. WarGrowlmon continued glancing down, "That was close. Now what?"

"We head back," Henry affirmed, turning back towards the others, "Tamer…I mean Takato…whatever, what the hell is that?"

"The D-Reaper," he answered quietly. We're in a lot of trouble."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Tamer now recognizes the enemy they're up against and Xiaochun has joined the team. Will the team be able to defeat this threat to the Digital World? Will Zhenyu and Izumi be able to get the children out of the Digital World? And what exactly has affected Juri? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 due out next week on Friday January 3rd at 8 PM CST. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. I also welcome constructive criticism and speculation on the next chapter. And don't forget to follow the story to keep up with all the latest updates and favorite to show support. That's all for now, let's look at previews for the next chapter!

" _Query received. Compiling response. Response compiled. Answer: I am fine. Query: What is your basic chemical composition?"_

" _My what?" Kenta asked, dumbfounded by the question. That was when Ryo pulled him back by tugging on his ear, "Give her some space, Kenta. She's been through a lot."_

" _Sorry, she was just asking me a funny question," Kenta answered defensively, allowing himself to get dragged along by Kenta until they rejoined Sakuyamon and the Sovereigns. He took a deep breath at the sight of her, still processing what Henry told him. She had reached the next form of digivolution and become something in between human and digimon. It was like some kinda hybrid. He sighed, wishing he could have a digimon partner of his own already._


	35. New Plan, Do We Have One?

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 35: New Plan, Do We Have One?**

Kenta kept his eye on Juri anxiously, wondering what could be going through her head in light of seeing everyone return safely with their digimon. Well, mostly everyone. Kazu and Guardromon were still out cold from whatever had happened. The others were also being oddly quiet about what happened, apparently not willing to recall what had happened with perfect clarity. Whatever had spooked them had been bad.

"More information needed. Continue observation. Raising threat level of all targets. Exercise caution," she said. Kenta jumped at the sound of her monotonous voice and alarmed phrase, "Juri?"

"It's not Juri," Calumon whimpered quietly, "She's not okay! She's not! She's really not!"

Kenta raised an eyebrow at the little digimon, unsure of what to make of the little digimon's panicked expression. He'd always been a little anxious but this was ridiculous. He was treating Juri like she was one of the Devas. What was there to be afraid of? It wasn't like she was staring with cold, dead eyes at them like she was planning on killing everyone. At least, that's what he tried to tell himself as she continued to stare at him unblinkingly, "Um, Juri. How are you holding up?"

"Query received. Compiling response. Response compiled. Answer: I am fine. Query: What is your basic chemical composition?"

"My what?" Kenta asked, dumbfounded by the question. That was when Ryo pulled him back by tugging on his ear, "Give her some space, Kenta. She's been through a lot."

"Sorry, she's just acting weird and it's freaking me out," Kenta answered defensively, allowing himself to get dragged along by Kenta until they rejoined Sakuyamon and the Sovereigns. He took a deep breath at the sight of her, still processing what he'd been told. She had reached the next form of digivolution and become something in between human and digimon. It was like some kinda hybrid. He sighed, wishing he could have a digimon partner of his own already.

"Hey! We're back!" Tamerkato's voice called out. They looked up and saw him and WarGrowlmon riding atop a large mechanical version of Terriermon wearing Rapidmon's armor soaring through the air. It touched down just beside them and revealed how large it truly was when standing beside the other digimon - about the size of the other Sovereigns. That was something. Hell, it could probably even dwarf Megidramon - not that Kenta wanted to find out. But there was someone's else with them: Henry's little sister and a chocolate version of Terriermon with three horns instead of the usual one.

"Wow! You're all okay! How was the Digital World!?" Henry's sister greeted, "Everything is all so big! Wow! So Pretty! It's a flying snake, and a glowing tiger, and fire bird, and a two headed turtle! I bet they argue a lot."

"Wait, aren't you Henry's sister? What are you doing here?" Kenta pointed at her in disbelief, "How did you get here? And where's Henry!?"

"Well it all started when there was a noise in daddy's computer, and then there was a pretty light, and then a giant bunny and then," she paused, "Oh no! The bunny! Is she okay?"

She hurried back to the chocolate Terriermon and examined its unconscious form. It jolted awake at her touch, and shook its head in disbelief, "Ow! That hurt…wait…you got taller."

"I didn't get taller, you got smaller!" Xiaochun said happily, pointing at her body. As the bunny took a moment to examine herself, Xiaochun squealed in delight, "Ooh! You're so cute like this! I love it! I just want to give you a great big hug!"

"Don't you dare!" she tried to protest but it was too late. Xiaochun was already holding the bunny in her arms and squeezing her as hard as she could. As the bunny tried to protest, a small light appeared in Xiaochun's pocket and the girl dropped the bunny in surprise, "Hm? What's that? Oh! Hello, what's this? Henry! Look! Look! I got a digivice too!"

She held up a pink digivice and showed it to the big green mecha that sighed in frustration. Then Azulongmon remarked, "Would you look at that - a Deva chosen as a partner to a human girl. You must've done something truly spectacular to earn that, Antylamon. Or should I say Lopmon?"

"It doesn't really feel spectacular," the rabbit frowned. Kenta had no idea what the hell was going on and looked at the others from some explanation, "So is someone going to translate any of that?"

"We're just as confused as you are," the giant robot dog said. Sakuyamon came over to join him, "Alright, Henry. So what's this big guy called?"

"MegaGargomon and I feel like a freaking Gundam," he answered sheepishly, "Watch where you're standing guys. I feel like I'm going to step on someone just because I adjust my feet. It's really weird."

"Where are our Devas? Caturamon and Antylamon?" Zhuqiaomon roared at the top of his lungs. MegaGargomon gestured down at the chocolate bunny, "We couldn't find Caturamon. As for Antylamon, she's right there. But we have a problem. That thing, the D-Reaper, just appeared over in that part of the Digital World! It was all we could do to get away before it got to us!"

Alarm spread through the remaining Devas and Sovereigns as they realized time had run out for them. Kenta could see it plain as day on their faces - they looked like they'd been told the world was going to end. Whatever thing was the cause of this mess was loose in the Digital World now and it was only a matter of time before they'd be able to do anything about it. Azulongmon turned to Calumon, "Little one. You must understand, you must release the power held within you now. For the sake of the Digital World. For the sake of all worlds!"

"I don't know if I can," he whimpered quietly, shying away from the massive flying sovereign.

That was when Tamerkato picked him up, "Don't worry. I think I can help you there. It might sting, but it's better than the alternative."

"Pardon me there laddie but what do you think you're doing with the Catalyst?" Ebonwumon's first head asked, as it guided itself over to him. Once both heads were close enough to examine him, the second head asked, "And who exactly do you think you are that you can figure out what we can't?"

Tamerkato thumbed at his goggles, "You know who I am."

"Who do you think you are to talk to us that way, human!?" Zhuqiaomon snapped angrily. Calumon cowed under Zhuqiaomon's voice, shaking in terror until Tamerkato started patting his head, "Who do you think you are to call me human? See, I can be mean too. Not a lot of fun is it? Come on already Zhuqiaomon, you're smarter than this. Put it together already."

Zhuqiaomon stared at him silently until his four eyes widened. Even his voice carried a mix of surprise and disappointment as he answered, "No."

"Yup," Tamerkato nodded. Zhuqiaomon blinked repeatedly, as if to confirm what he was looking at. Kenta couldn't blame him - it was very hard to believe in itself. Zhuqiaomon remarked, "But...you're so pathetic looking. I recall a warrior's eyes last time we met."

"Times change. So do people," Tamerkato answered, looking from him to the other Sovereigns, "All of you. It's been a while."

"Hang on a tick, who is this whelp and why are we listenin' ya his demands?" Ebonwumon's other head demanded. Zhuqiaomon roared, "It's The Digimon Tamer, you idiot."

"It is?" Ebonwumon eyed Tamerkato quietly. Azulongmon and Baihumon came in closer to better examine the boy but neither seemed to impressed with what they saw. Azulongmon nodded, "It's he's a while Digimon Tamer. I don't like the new look. It's very dopey."

"Yeah, I get that a lot," Tamerkato crowned before gesturing at the Sovereigns, "Can you do that thing where you call all the digimon here?"

Each of the Sovereigns looked at each other quietly, Ebonwumon's second head asking, "Are you sure?"

Tamerkato nodded quietly and Baihumon sighed, "Okay then. This will take time."

The four sovereigns ascended skyward to just above the crevice and came aglow with light. Kenta had to crane his neck back just to get a good look at them before covering his eyes from the blinding light, "What are they doing?"

"Summoning the digimon. Every digimon," Tamerkato answered quietly. MegaGargomon looked from the dazzling display above their heads and asked, "Why would they do that?"

"Because we're going to need more than the Sovereigns to fight back against this thing. We need everyone," Tamerkato answered bitterly. Sakuyamon looked to him, "You mean an army?"

Tamerkato didn't answer.

* * *

"I think I've got it right. I'm forwarding my copy of the code to you now. Hopefully it works well with what you guys are working," Zhenyu said as he finished the last few lines of code.

"Okay, that just leaves Curly and Babel. Go ahead and drop it in the shared network folder," Dolphin remarked.

"Already done!" Zhenyu answered with a big smile. He missed this - when all of them were together, they worked with a speed and efficiency that few could match. Except for maybe the Ichijoujis and Izumi, "Where are you at Curly? Babel?"

"On its way."

"Just dropped my part of the code in the computer."

The room was alight with the clicks of keys and whirring of fans trying to cool a powerhouse of processors. Dolphin took a deep breath and copied their code, "Okay, compiling now. We'll be ready to test once its done. It should only take a couple of minutes with all this processing power at our disposal."

"Do you think it will work?" Sora asked, having watched from across the room with the other digidestined who couldn't help because of their lack of any programming or computer knowledge. Dolphin shrugged, "No idea. We're working from scratch in a poorly understood field. Or…unknown field makes more sense. I say we have a ten percent chance of it working."

"And the other ninety?" Sora asked, her tone becoming more serious and worrisome after that. The many Monster Makers looked at each other anxiously, "We overload the power supply and blow ourselves up. And possibly the kids with it."

"Maybe I'll lose my other leg and even myself out," Izumi remarked dryly, snickering at his joke until his wife slapped the back of his head, "Don't joke about that, Koushi!"

"Sorry, I think the pain meds are still messing with me," he chuckled while massaging the sore spot on his head, "I'll review the code and see if it works."

"Koushi?" Zhenyu heard the school teacher repeat stupidly, "Wow, Izzy. Never figured you two for pet names."

"What exactly are we doing again?" Motomiya complained from a swivel chair that he'd been using to spin in place while balancing a pencil on his nose. Daisy, ever the energetic member of their team, snapped her fingers and raced over to a wall with a marker, "Oh, I got this! So, we've modified the Juggernaut's code to force open a gate between worlds without sucking in all digital life that it detects. We then used that same code to create a new program that we're calling 'Ark'. It's a modified version of the rudimentary life program that we created way back when we first made the digimon. Only the 'Ark' is modified to act as transport with room for all the kids and their digimon to come home."

Her explanation didn't really need a visual aid but it didn't stop her from drawing on the wall. And when she was done, she happily presented a crude drawing of a space ship that resembled on the new digivices but with wings. She seemed proud of it too until Yamaki groaned and dragged her away, "Please don't draw on our walls."

"I've got coffee and snacks," Tally announced as she walked back into the office with Riley. Both women held carriers filled with coffees and handily started passing them around to the different members of the digidestined. The group collectively cheered and thanked the women for making a coffee run just as the time came for them to sit back and watch the code compile in front of them.

Just as the anticipation was about to kill them, Ken Ichijouji returned with Matt Ishida lugging a laptop and a power cord under his arm. Matt slammed the laptop down hard, manhandling it as he hooked up the power cord while Izumi complained, "I see you still treat computers rougher than you treat Tamer."

"I'm anxious," Matt answered, "The key to finding Takeru could be on here. And Ken probably just figured out the password. I need to know."

Ken retrieved the laptop before he could damage it any further and declared, "I understand where you're coming from. No one will ever get that more than me. But those clues are going to go up in flames if you don't start treating these electronics with a little more delicacy."

"What's the deal with this anyway?" Zhenyu asked, "Takeru's your brother and he's missing. I've gathered that much. But what exactly makes you think there could be clues on that laptop?"

Ichijouji was too busy setting up the laptop to answer the question so it fell on Ishida to provide the answer for him, "Before Takeru disappeared, he became really withdrawn and paranoid. Kept talking about not knowing who was listening. We could just be hanging out at our apartment and he'd begin worrying about being watched. I guess now we know why."

He shot a deathly angry look over at Yamaki. The government agent adjusted his tie and pretended to not notice, "Don't be so naive to think we were the only ones watching you. There were others watching well before we were. If it wasn't us, it would've been Burnt Leaf, the Central Intelligence Agency, MI6, the Ministry of State Security, or any of the other intelligence agencies out there in the world. You painted huge targets on your backs when you were kids because of the stuff you pulled in the Odaiba Incident."

"Kids? Hang on, the Odaiba Incident was...like...two years ago. They're adults!" Curly protested.

"Getting back on track," Ishida cleated his throat, "We thought it was just jitters from his next book. Digimon Adventure 02. He'd been stressing about it forever because of the details he changed while he was working on it. Most of it was because he wasn't comfortable with lying or covering up the truth. Then he disappeared and our digimon vanished with him. I hired Ken here to investigate for me and figure out what the hell happened to my brother."

"Oh cool, your brother wrote those awesome books!" Daisy said excitedly.

"Moving on. My investigation turned up some scary things. He started renting a lot of properties, moving from place to place at the drop of a hat, and rigged every place he stayed with booby traps. It was like he expected to be attacked," Ichijouji answered as he typed on the keyboard, "We found this laptop in one of those properties, also booby trapped. It's password protected and set to automatically delete the hard drive if we put in the wrong password too many times. We couldn't get in. And the only hint was nonsense. But now I'm starting to wonder if the answer was right under our noses."

"What are you thinking honey?" his wife asked, joining him to inspect the laptop's screen. Ichijouji looked up with the biggest pleased with himself smile possible, "Something that was kind of a theme in Takeru's books. Hell, call it the theme of our fucking lives if you want to believe it. The password! It's DESTINY."

He pressed enter as he finished typing and the computer moved onto the desktop which had a file directory open. Matt cheered and slapped Ken's back "You're my hero right now. I hope you know that. What have you got?"

Ken began scrolling through the different folders and subdirectories, "Let's find out. It looks like he kept everything very well organized. There's saved copies of news articles, this folder looks like drafts of his book at different stages of writing. Here's a folder with a lot of pictures. Hey, Yamaki. Looks like Takeru was on to you."

He turned the laptop to show a selfie of Takeru holding up a peace sign with his fingers. Just behind him was Yamaki pretending to read a newspaper - a sight that made his own subordinates snicker. Riley remarked, "You were always awful at field operations."

"Is that code almost done compiling?" Yamaki tried to divert the subject but was answered with a sharp no from Dolphin still watching his monitor, "I'll let you all know if anything changes. Please continue. I like hearing about how a novelist was outsmarting a bunch of government agents."

"It becomes a lot less amusing when you realize that there were lives at stake," Yamaki pointed out seriously, "This might just be a game to some of you-"

He looked right at the Monster Makers when he said that and added, "-or a childhood adventure-"

He looked at the digidestined, "But this is a national security matter. Monsters from another world invaded ours. You better believe every single government out there wants to be the first to use them as weapons and tip the global power scale. Quite frankly, it all comes down to who you think would be better off in control of the situation. And you better believe that everyone has different ideas of what to do with them."

"And what's your plan for them?" the doctor asked calmly, finally saying something for the first time since they arrived. Yamaki turned on the man, taking a moment to cool before calmly asking, "What are you implying?"

"I've worked with Doctors Without Borders for years. I've been to a lot of parts of the world. Everyone is always after something. So what's your game Yamaki? What makes the Japanese government any better than say the Americans? Or the Chinese? Hell, what makes you think that we would help you just to let you have any kind of control over the digimon?" Doctor Kido stated matter of factly with a finger pointed so close to the government agent that they were pretty sure he was going to jab his eye out.

Yamaki sighed, "Don't be so naive. Everyone has blood on their hands. Even you, Doctor Kido. Or do you believe we don't know about the wild ones you killed? The ones who showed up when you were just a teenager."

"That was two years ago and that man is in his twenties!" another of the Monster Makers shouted out of annoyance.

"We were trying to save the world," Kido stood his ground on the matter.

"Good job with that. You've totally saved the world and made it better for everyone. It's not like we have monsters regularly appearing in our streets and attacking people," Yamaki fired back angrily. There was moment of pause until Kari Kamiya came forward and slapped them both across the back of the head with a textbook, "Focus! We're here to save the kids, not bicker over whose morality dick is bigger."

The computer made a beep and Zhenyu announced, "The program works. Let's give it a run and see if it can enter the Digital World. If this works, then we can go save our kids!"

"But how do we know if it works?" Miss Izumi asked. Dolphin smiled, "We've taken care of that. The Ark will go to the Digital World and acquire a sample of Digital Life. Not anything sentient, but definitely something alive. If it comes here in one piece, then we know it works. If it doesn't, back to the drawing board!"

"And where exactly will the ark be appearing?" Yamaki folded his arms and leered. Dolphin laughed at his attempt at intimidation, "Don't worry. We have it landing on top of the Metropolitan Building."

* * *

Rika marveled as the digimon gathered - filling the sky and crowding the ground with their numbers. And they all came so quickly and without warning that she barely had time to process the fact that it happened. There were more among their number than could ever be counted and Rika was unsure of what to do with them, "Renamon, how are they all here?"

" _Even I don't know that,"_ Renamon answered quietly, "Although I wish I did."

"That is the power of the Sovereigns," Tamerkato answered, still cradling Calumon in his hands, "And we're going to need everyone to fight the D-Reaper."

"You keep saying that. Who's the D-Reaper?" Kenta asked aloud. Tamerkato snapped his fingers, "You remember that camp fire story? The monster who only wanted to devour. I wasn't making that up. The D-Reaper is real and it existed."

"Wait, seriously?" Henry or MegaGargomon or whatever he was calling himself stammered out, "So that thing we were just fighting is the all powerful monster from your campfire story?"

"Anyone care to fill me in?" Rika finally demanded grumpily, tapping her foot impatiently as she awaited the others' explanation of the recent turn of events. Kenta pushed his fingers together quietly, "We went on a camping trip for school not too long ago and told ghost stories. Taka…Tamer told this weird story about a monster that ate everything it came across and got stronger as it did. In the end, it was so strong that no one could defeat it. They just did the next best thing: they buried it."

"And it looks like all that did was buy time," Tamerkato remarked wearily from where he was, still petting Calumon's head. The poor little digimon seemed to shrink and shy away in his arms, eyes welling up with tears as begged, "Can we please stop talking about the scary stuff! I don't like this! I want to leave! Can we go now!? Please, I want to go now!"

"Just a little bit longer," Tamerkato said, stroking the little digimon's head until he calmed down. Rika couldn't believe what she was hearing, "Are you kidding me? So you mean we're up against a something that can't be killed? That thing down there? That's what all this is about? What are we supposed to do to beat it? How did it even get out?"

Tamerkato laughed, "The Digital World has been through a lot of trauma over the years. It's been weakened from attacks from outside reality, had its life force sapped by evil forces, and now its merged with another version of itself. We'll be lucky if that monster is the only thing we have to worry about."

"What do you mean the only thing we have to worry about goggle head?" Rika demanded of Tamerkato. He sighed, "There's a part of that story that Kenta left out. Honestly, it's one of the most forgettable parts of the story. They sent another monster to fight it - hoping the two of them would kill each other. When they realized it wasn't going to happen, then they decided to burry it under the Digital World. We already have one monster coming back up. What will we do if there's two? What will we do if they're working together?"

Her heart seemed to freeze when the thought of something equally as powerful as that thing down there came to mind. The thing he was talking about was directly under them and it was so strong that the Sovereigns - all powerful beings who took Megidramon down - ran away in fear. And now Tamerkato was talking about two of them? They were screwed if even a word of that was true. She took another moment to steel herself enough to talk, "We'll worry about that when it happens. What are we going to do about that thing now?"

"Not we. Us. Well, us excluding you guys," Tamerkato answered matter of factly. That part stunned Rika. She hadn't come all this way to get removed from the big fight. She wasn't going to turn tail and run now.

"Where are we going?" Kazu asked, finally stirring from his unconscious state. Just what Rika needed - headaches on top of her fear. Suddenly, he jumped up to his feet upon seeing all the digimon present, "Whoa! Check out that digimon! Who's she?"

"It's Sakuyamon to you," Rika answered grumpily, stamping the ground with her staff and leering at Tamerkato, "And how can you just send us home now after everything that's happened?"

"This isn't your fight. And quite frankly, you shouldn't be putting your lives at risk for this," Tamerkato answered sternly.

"I agree," Ryo added grumpily. Rika gasped, "RYO!?"

"He's right. This isn't our fight. And to be honest, I've been wanting to go home since this entire thing started. All I've wanted was to go home," Ryo said bitterly, "I've fought enough world ending monsters. I don't want to fight one more."

Rika was stunned and at a loss for words. She knew the Digital World had changed Ryo, she knew that he desperately wanted to go home. But abandoning an entire world to a horrible fate, "That's selfish Ryo."

" _You're one to talk, Rika_ ," Renamon's words echoed in her mind. Yes, she was selfish before. She was trying to be better. Before she could get another word in, Ryo answered, "Rika, it's been twenty years since I've seen my parents. My family. Twenty years of non stop fighting and violence and sleeping with one eye open so I don't get eaten in the middle of the night by some random monster digimon. Twenty years, Rika. All I want right now is to see them again. Is that selfish too?"

His words were pleading, almost desperate. She couldn't argue with him, feeling only guilt when she thought about forcing him to stay in the Digital World longer to save a world he didn't want anything to do with. She needed to apologize. To let him know she was sorry but was stopped by a beeping in her backpack. It was the D-Terminal with a message from their parents. It had been a while since they'd heard from them and she read aloud the message they'd received, " _To whoever gets this. This is Henry_ _'_ _s dad. Is Henry_ _'_ _s sister in the Digital World with you?_ "

She tried typing her response but realized her fingers were too big to touch the buttons properly. Embarrassed, she passed the device to Ryo, "Do you mind? My hands are too big."

"Sure," he began typing a message into the screen, "Yes. She showed up a little while ago and she's got a rabbit with her."

Ryo paused, looking at the little girl, "I guess your family noticed she was missing too. I wonder what my parents think?"

Rika was hit with another bout of guilt, wondering now if her mother and father were just as worried about her. She didn't want to agree to heading back, but she couldn't deny that going home would be nice.

" _It's alright to want to go home Rika. I understand completely_ ," Renamon's voice echoed. Did she though? Renamon had done a lot for her world and here she was ready to abandon the Digital World. It was stupid to feel this way though since Renamon would just hear thoughts, a fact she was more than keen to remind her of, " _Yes. I'm quite sure. And yes, it is stupid. The Digital World has some of the most powerful digimon overseeing its safety. We can afford for you to return to your family for a small while._ "

"But goggle head wanted to kick us out of the fight," Rika admitted quietly.

" _Then you must be stupid if you think for one second that I believe you're going to listen to him long enough to heed his word. We'll find our own way back if we have to_ ," Renamon's voice answered. That was a relief. At least she knew Renamon didn't want out of this fight.

Tamerkato strolled up to the center of the group and stroked Calumon again, "It's time buddy. This may sting a little. I'll need to release the energy inside of you."

Calumon's ear shrank away further and it seemed like he wanted to run away from Tamerkato, only staying because the boy's grip was apparently stronger than he'd ever let on. He traced patterns onto the little guy's head with his finger, calming the little digimon with each pattern until he finally closed his eyes. He came aglow with soft light, and Tamerkato released the little digimon so he could float gently up into the air.

Calumon's mouth moved, but anything he said was completely inaudible to them. Not that it mattered, since he suddenly erupted into a dazzling display of light that spread out in all direction. Beams of light struck every digimon it could and they all gave out a momentous cry of digivolution. It would've been beautiful and Rika would've loved to admire it if they didn't have to worry about the fact the danger that was just below them. But this was a sight they had never seen before: countless mega level digimon hovering just above them unlike anything they'd ever seen before. Even from the books and the shows, she could only think of maybe five or six mega level digimon appearing at any one time. There were as many mega digimon here as there were stars in the sky. And only a few she could properly identify.

WarGreymon. MetalGarurumon. Pukumon. MetalSeadramon. Those were the ones she could identify. There were more present than she'd ever seen before. And many that she'd never seen in the show, or the card game, or anything else related to digimon.

The light faded and Calumon fell back into Tamerkato's arms with his eyes closed. He stroked the little digimon's head gently and smiled calmly, "Good job, Calumon."

"Is Calumon sleepy?" WarGrowlmon asked.

"To think we sent that to the Human World. We should've guarded it here for our own use," Zhuqiaomon declared, still taking in the sight of hundreds of fresh mega level digimon all around him. Tamerkato took a step back and pulled Calumon away from the Sovereign, "Not on your life. The Catalyst isn't just a power source anymore. It's a living, breathing, being with thoughts, feelings, wants and needs. I have no idea how you managed to even do that. It shouldn't be possible. But it is apparently. And you're not using him as a weapon."

"Then what did you just do?" Zhuqiaomon demanded. Tamerkato gestured around them, "I gave you guys a way to defend yourselves against a beast crawling its way back out of the heart of the Digital World."

"And that's the only reason you gave us this power?" Zhuqiaomon eyed him seriously. Tamerkato didn't hesitate to answer, "Why, did you plan on using it for something else?"

Rika wasn't in the mood to hear them bicker - not after what they'd all just gone through - and cleared her throat to get their attention, "Look, I don't want to interrupt whatever this is but what now? I mean, is there even a plan here? If brute force was going to be enough, then wouldn't the Sovereigns have been enough? What exactly will more Mega level digimon do that four of the strongest digimon couldn't?"

"It's to buy time while we come up with another plan. Unless you guys have another one besides attack," Tamerkato stated bluntly, looking at the Sovereigns with a bit more hope in his eyes than he probably should've had. The four Sovereign digimon exchanged glances before Azulongmon answered, "Our hope was that you would have one when you reappeared."

Tamerkato nodded quietly, "Then yeah, buy time while we come up with a plan. But first, take these guys home."

It was as good a plan as any until Kazu roared up to Tamerkato in a huff, "Hold on! We just got here and you better believe I'm not running away with my tail between my legs! We're going back down there and we're going to-"

The ground began to rumble and gave way just beneath his feet. Rika acted on instinct and leapt into the air, hovering there as the ground crumbled away for the red mass underneath to get loose. MegaGargomon did the same - grabbing hold of Xiaochun, Lopmon, and the unconscious Guardromon. Cybderdramon was quick to grab Ryo and Kazu before the ground gave way under them. The rest weren't so lucky - screaming as they fell to what must've been certain doom.

"Rika!" Renamon's voice echoed.

"I'm on it," she dove down towards the ground to grab them, going for the closest one: Juri. The girl was still staring blankly ahead of her. Did she even realize she was in any danger? No, of course not. She was still hung up on Leomon. She grabbed a hold of her and darted towards the next person she could see. Kenta. But he was too far. And so were Tamerkato and WarGrowlmon. She wasn't going to make it in time. They were going to be eaten by that thing.

* * *

"It's arrived on the rooftop. Haz Team is investigating it now," Yamaki said over the radio.

"Test run worked," Zhenyu declared with a sigh of relief. Now it was just a question of what the Ark had brought back and if it survived the process. That was the part that worried him and it made the seconds drag like hours. After a moment, Yamaki's voice rang back, "They're saying it's a plant. Like rosemary but blue. They're securing it now."

It worked. They knew it worked. That was all he cared about. And now they could send something to rescue the kids.

"Test looks good Zhenyu. Your team really pulled through this time. Okay, send a message to the kids and tell them to get ready for an extraction!" Yamaki said again into the radio, "Let's get them out of here."

Zhenyu didn't need telling twice. He and the rest of the team went back to the computers, ready for maiden voyage of their new machine.

* * *

"Kahuna Waves!"

Blue heart shaped bubbles descended from the sky and wrapped around them - stopping them just inches before they fell into the red mass. The red mass lurched in protest, belching up a small wave to try and reach them. Thankfully, the bubbles started to pull them away out of reach of the red mass which belched in violent protest. As soon as they were clear, every digimon above them started firing into the red mass below. It seemed to be working, but it was hard to know definitely beneath all the flashes of light and thunder.

Rika looked upward for their rescuer and was surprised to see a familiar pink seal with a big red heart on its chest cooing at them. She'd seen it only in the card game and was surprised that anything in its particularly weak digivolution line survived - MarineAngemon, the aquatic holy digimon. It raced down to them and cooed happily as it helped to lift them up to safety, leaving Kenta wondering aloud, "Wpw. Did you save us? Thanks little guy. But who are you?"

"MarineAngemon. It's a pleasure to meet you human," the little digimon greeted playfully, to Kenta's surprise, "I'm glad to see you're alright."

"Yeah, thanks," Kenta nodded graciously, offering a hand to the creature but realizing one second too late that it had no hand to shake. Still it offered its flipper anyway as a show of gratitude. On contact, a glow of light appeared where their 'hands' met and it jumped into Kenta's pocket. Rika could easily guess what it was and sighed - another digivice.

Until she noticed the light didn't subside - it was now coming from over their heads, and Rika looked upward, "What's that?"

All eyes turned skyward as something else joined them - a comically large vessel shaped like one of their digivices appeared over head and hovered there in the air just above them. Both Zhuqiaomon and Azulongmon encircled it, readying to attack it if needed. Their display seemed more for effect than anything else, since they were the only ones stopping all the new digivolved mega digimon from attacking it themselves. Azulongmon asked, "What is this? Is this one of yours, Tamer?"

This didn't stop Kazu from elbowing Kenta in the arm, "You may not have got the coolest partner, but it looks like you got the coolest digivice. That thing is huge, dude."

"Very funny Kazu. My digivice is right here," Kenta lifted his up with a big toothy grin.

"I have no idea what that is but I could hazard a guess," he answered knowingly, looking to the others with a smile. Then a new message came from Rika's D-Terminal. Ryo read the message aloud, "It's from your parents. _Get on the ship. It will take everyone home._ "

"Perfect timing, too," Tamerkato remarked with a big smile, "MarineAngemon, do you mind bringing us on board?"

"Of course!" the little digimon waved its fin and the heart shaped bubbles ascended towards the digivice shaped vessel. Ryo patted Cyberdramon and two darted ahead, getting aboard that ship before any one else had. Rika hesitated just long enough for Renamon to notice, "Rika?"

"Are you sure you're okay with not staying?" Rika thought quietly. Her partner's voice was calm but agreeable, "I understand why you're concerned and appreciate it. We will come back. First, we should go see your parents again."

"Okay," Rika agreed, kicking off against the digital World and flying off into the sky. She landed gently inside the machine and felt a sudden fatigue wash over her. She looked down at her arms and saw two regular human hands, "Huh, we're not Sakuyamon anymore."

"So it would seem," Renamon said from behind her, making her jump in surprise, "Geez! Give me some warning why don't you?"

"Forgive me, Rika. I didn't mean to alarm you," her partner said half apologetically, half with an uncharacteristic smile that made her uneasy. MegaGargomon tapped the ship and asked, "Huh, how do I get-"

As soon as he put his hand through the entrance, MegaGargomon appeared to lurch forward until both Henry and Terriermon were standing in front of them, "Whoa. That was trippy."

"Wonder how that worked?" Terriermon asked.

"How does this ship work? There's no controls!" Tamerkato remarked from further inside. Now that Rika was able to get a better look, she realized he was right. The ship consisted of nothing more than a large empty room - no seats, no safety measures, just an open door that probably was a safety hazard if the ship jolted too fast. Ryo returned Rika's D-Terminal, "Here, you can tell your parents we're on our way back. Hopefully calm them down."

She took it back with a quiet nod and typed into it, "We're all on board. How do we fly this ship?"

It took a moment longer for her to get a reply, " _It's on autopilot. Hang on._ "

Suddenly, the ship lurched ahead. Tamerkato was ecstatic at the activity, "Oh that is just awesome."

He darted back towards the opening, "We'll be back, Azulongmon. You have my word!"

"We'll be waiting, Tamer," the Sovereign digimon said. Not a second longer, the red mass lurched upward and began its counter attack. The Digital World was now a battlefield.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** What's next for the children now that they're leaving the Digital World? Can the digimon and the sovereigns hold the line by themselves? And how will Tamerkato face the real Takato's parents? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of the Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out next Friday January 10th at 8 PM CST. Let me know what you guys think in the reviews section - love it, hate it, thoughts, I can't wait to hear it. And hey, don't forget to favorite the story to show support and follow the story to keep up with all the latest updates. I hope you guys have had a great holiday weekend. That's all for now, let's look at previews for the next chapter!

 _It should have been a happy moment. It could have been a happy moment, until Tamerkato hopped out and was greeted by several of the security personnel with their weapons drawn. He threw up his hands immediately and groaned, "Why does everyone feel the need to threaten me with a weapon today?"_

 _"Are you seriously asking that question right now?" another boy asked from inside that Yamaki didn't recognize. And of course they brought back another human too. Yamaki called out, "It's a standard procedure. They're not going to hurt you. Just let them make sure you're safe."_


	36. It Followed Us

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 36: It Followed Us**

All three groups - Digidestined, Monster Maker, and Hypnos - waited anxiously atop the Tokyo Metropolitan Building in anticipation of the Ark's return. And every single one of them was worried about what would come through. A fully armed and equipped security team was on standby - in HAZMAT suits and geiger counters despite Izumi's insistence that they weren't necessary.

However, Yamaki didn't want to chance it. He knew that these things brought radiation with them whenever they came through from their side of the Digital World. The last thing he wanted was to let these kids and their pets wander the city leaking more radiation than an X-Ray machine. He didn't want to add sky rocketing cancer rates to the list of things his organization had to deal with.

At first there was nothing, just a long silence that made them all uneasy. With how much time they spent waiting, day turned to night and the city's lights came to life.

Then a loud crack of thunder roared and a dazzling flash of light appeared in front of them as the sky seemed to rip open - letting through the ornate ship he had seen before. The Ark as it were called - or Grani - according to Curly. The ship appeared right on the helipad where it had before - floating perfectly still in the air for a moment too long until it turned around to reveal the open door on the back.

And inside were the kids they'd spent the afternoon trying to rescue: Henry, Xiaochun, Rika, Kazu, Kenta, Juri, and Takato - along with their digimon. Several digimon, actually. Digimon who were most definitely not with them when they left - a weird robot, a floating pink thing, the white bunny thing everyone was making a fuss about, another brown bunny thing and a small imp in the fox's arms. Yamaki groaned at the realization that they'd actually brought back more of the creatures with them.

It should have been a happy moment. It could have been a happy moment, until Takato hopped out and was greeted by several of the security personnel with their weapons drawn. He threw up his hands immediately and whimpered, "I come in peace! I promise. Please put the guns down! No? Why does everyone feel the need to threaten me with a weapon today?"

"Are you seriously asking that question right now?" another boy asked as he stepped out of the ship Yamaki definitely didn't recognize him. He expected a lot of things from them while they were in the Digital World. He didn't expect them to bring back another human, although he probably should've at this point.

Once he noticed the others getting jumpy at the guns, Yamaki called out to get their attention and explained, "It's a standard procedure. They're not going to hurt you. Just let them make sure you're safe and not leaking high levels of who knows what kind of radiation into the air."

The men with the geiger counters approached, holding their devices up to the kids as Henry added, "I was feeling pretty safe until just now. What are they doing anyway? What kind of radiation do you think we have?"

"We don't really know. Crossing the boundaries between worlds isn't exactly a clean business. We need to make sure you're not going to poison anyone around you and give them cancer. Hell, the last thing we need is you getting someone sick with an alien disease. Or some kind of slow acting poison."

"Poison? Why would we do that?" little Xiaochun asked innocently enough. When one of the HAZMAT crew approached her, she shied away behind her older brother, "You're scary."

"Are all humans in this world like this? They're all quite rude apparently," the brown bunny stated with a frown. The floating pink thing added, "I don't know, they seem alright to me. They just seem nervous. Maybe they need hugs!"

"Don't! They might think you're going to attack!" Kenta gasped.

"It'll be alright, kids," Zhenyu called out to them, trying to give some measure of comfort to his kids. After everyone was scanned, one of the HAZMAT crew called out, "We're clear - radiation is at normal levels."

"Finally!" the strange boy declared, pushing his way past the guards towards the nearest exit, "Well, it's been fun but I'm heading home. I'm several years late on my curfew and I miss my parents."

"Hold it," Yamaki moved in front of the boy to keep him from escaping, "You weren't part of the group when the kids went to the Digital World. Who are you?"

The boy groaned, "Oh you're going to love this. Have a seat. We're going to be here a while."

* * *

As soon as the all clear was given, the Izumis wasted no time hurrying over to their daughter to hug her. And the poor girl was quickly overwhelmed, trying to push the two grown adults away in annoyance, "Mom! Dad! Get off!"

"And for a moment I thought you looked almost adorable Ruki," Renamon mused from behind her with delight. Rika rolled her eyes, but smiled in appreciation of her parents. There hadn't really been a family moment like that in a while. Hell, they hadn't been together like this in some time - or rather for a few weeks. And it was good to see them getting along. And of Henry and his sister were having their moment with his parents. Kazu seemed to be trying to put up a brave face about the whole thing, with Kenta following his lead. After all, neither of them had told their respective families so there was no reason for them to know. Hell, they were probably worried sick about him. However, Guardromon spoiled the whole thing by pointing out a malfunction in his lacrimal gland - something Kazu didn't understand, "My what?"

"It means you're crying," Miss Kamiya explained, crossing her arms, "Still, we're glad to see you're alright."

"No biggie! So how long were we gone for?" Kazu answered smugly.

"A couple of hours," Miss Kamiya answered, making his jaw fall to the floor, "Hours? It was weeks for us!"

"Time moves differently between worlds," she responded.

Then there was the last set of parents: the Matsudas. And they seemed almost disappointed to see only one Takato there. Or rather Tamerkato. She knew where this was going and didn't want to watch, looking away towards her parents. But both pf her parents seemed aware of what was going on. Her dad frowned, "I'm sorry."

"I didn't even know the guy," she answered sheepishly. That was right, she didn't know him. So why did it hurt to think about it?

Rika's eyes went downward band she tried to pretend what was about to happen wasn't. But it wasn't just the Takato situation she didn't want to think about. There was so much to talk the about - the danger in the Digital World, the fact that they may have to go back to prevent it from destroying the Digital and reaching this world, amid all the other things that happened. For now though, all she wanted was to be with her parents. Although she wasn't about to admit that. Then she remembered Ryo and Juri's situation.

Ryo just wanted to go home after what had been twenty years of travel in the Digital World. Meanwhile, Juri had to watch her partner die in front of her. Tamerkato shared some responsibility for both. And now he had to answer for the real Takato - to the real Takato's parents after promising to bring him back. She really didn't envy him right now.

However, it seemed he didn't want to answer for it either - instead opting to talk to Yamaki, "Let him go home. He's had twenty years. Let him see his parents."

"That's all the more reason for us to hold him," Yamaki countered, "Who knows what kind of diseases he's brought back with him!? He could be sick and we wouldn't know! We can't be too careful."

Tamerkato glanced once at Ryo, "I think he looks fine."

Yamaki groaned, "I'm going to take the word of a medical professional over you."

Tamerkato sighed and held up his digivice, "Where do you live?"

"Odaiba," Ryo answered grimly, staring at him with increasing impatience. Tamerkato nodded, pressing a few buttons on his digivice, "You've got maybe a ten minute head start. Move quickly and try not to be seen. And see if you can keep him quiet. Understand?"

Ryo nodded quietly. Monodramon wasn't following and blurted out, "Hey! Why should I be quiet!?"

Yamaki looked between the two boys and asked, "What are you two planning?"

"This," Takato answered with the biggest grin on his face before pointing his digivice at Ryo, "Good luck. Digiport open!"

Yamaki realized one second too late what was going on and tried to grab a hold of Ryo and Monodramon just before he vanished in a brilliant but dazzling display of light. Ryo was gone, possibly back to his won, world leaving Yamaki to stare at Tamerkato in anger, "What the hell did you do!?"

"I sent him back to his family," Tamerkato flicked the man's nose and looked over at the Matsudas. Yamaki grabbed a hold of him and raised him up in anger, "What do you mean you sent him back to his family!?"

"I'm sorry, I thought I was pretty clear," Tamerkato remarked. Yamaki cursed under his breath and turned to one of his agents, "Get a team to Odaiba now and track that Ryo kid down now. Riley, start looking this kid up - missing child named Ryo. Find his address, family, everything. Tally, get a HAZMAT team ready to intercept him!"

"Sir!" the team of agents said as they disappeared back into the building to carry out their orders. Takato turned to the Matsudas now and his smile disappeared as he made his way over to them. Rika could only imagine what was going through his head. Tamerkato would have to tell their parents the truth about their son. And she didn't want to imagine how they were going to take that news. Her dad tried to move her so that she wouldn't see, but she couldn't bring herself to do so, "Ruki, you don't have to deal with-"

"I know," she heard herself say.

"Honey, shut up," her mom squeezed his shoulder to silence him. If he didn't understand the message then, he certainly did when a loud slap rang out. Rika closed her eyes, took a deep breath and finally looked back at the Matsudas to see Tamerkato on the ground with a red mark on his cheek. What she thought was a slap was actually a fist from Mister Matsuda, he was only held back from giving another one by his wife. Tamerkato's expression was empty - not sad or hurt. Just empty. Guilmon, on the other hand, was in front of him and growling at Mister Matsuda for laying a hand on him. Tamerkato however, didn't even try to look at them. He didn't smile his stupid smile or frown or anything. He rubbed the sore spot on his cheek and looked away, "I'm sorry."

"You better be!" Mister Matsuda snapped angrily. Tamerkato still didn't look at him, quietly wrapping his hands around his digivice before murmuring, "Digiport Open!"

There was a bright flash and he was gone. Yamaki was mad now, stamping his foot on the roof, "Dammit, now we're missing two of them."

"Good riddance," Mister Matsuda grumbled while his wife turned him around, "Honey! Don't say that!"

"Our son is dead because of him!"

"We don't know that!" she reasoned, "We don't what happened over on the other side!"

"We know our son went missing and then he showed up shortly after!" Mister Matsuda practically screamed back, cooling when he saw his wife flinch back. He took a minute to breath deep before looking back towards her, "You, um...Rika? What happened over there!? What happened to our son?"

"Don't involve our daughter in this," her mom stepped in front of her, "She had nothing to do with whatever bullshit Tamer is pulling!"

"Mom!" Rika gasped in surprise at her mother's sudden use of vulgar language. She didn't even know her mother had it in her but there it was plain as day. Mister Matsuda pointed at her angrily and shouted, "Your daughter went with him to the Digital World. I want to know what he did. I want to know what you found out! What happened to Takato!?"

Rika cursed under her breath, unaware that Tamerkato would leave her to have to deal with explaining the truth to the Matsudas. She should've known this would happen. Still, she couldn't blame him. She didn't want to be the one to tell him. And after the temper tantrum he threw in the Digital World, she was unsure of how much anger he'd be letting loose now. Which was another terrifying thought when she dwelled on it. What would she do if Megidramon suddenly let loose in the middle of Tokyo? It wasn't like they had the ability to deal with that! They needed Azulongmon last time. And it wasn't like they could just pull an all powerful dragon to the human world without scaring a whole lot of people.

"Hey!" Mister Matsuda snapped his fingers to get attention.

"Don't talk to my daughter like that!" her dad snapped back.

"All of you calm down!" Miss Kamiya cried out at the top of her lungs, clapping her hands to get everyone's attention. She threw her hands up in frustration, "In case you've all forgotten, we've got a situation on our hands. Rika, What thee hell happened in the Digital World and is everything alright?"

"That's a long story and I don't think there's enough time in the day," Rika finally managed to find her voice, "The good news is we're back. The bad news is we may not be back for long."

"What!? You have to go back!?" her mom gasped, covering her mouth in terror as her eyes widened in fear, "Well not without us you're not!"

Rika didn't want to be the one to break that news to them, and could only wonder what was going to happen to them now. Thankfully, Renamon was able to spare her having to answer the rest of the questions, "We know now why the Devas were after Calumon and why they were so intent on coming to this world. Our world, the Digital World, is in danger from an old threat. One that scares even the Digimon Tamer. Without us, the Digital World will certainly be destroyed. Then it's only a matter of time before it comes to this world."

"Why is it always the end of the world with this stuff!?" Davis complained angrily.

"Well, there's one bit of good news. We found your partners and we know they're safe," Henry added hopefully. This earned the attention of everyone present, "You did!? Where are they!? Are they okay? How do we get to them!?"

"They're alright and they miss you guys," Henry answered happily, "They wanted to see you guys and come with us, but Takeru and Tamer said it wasn't time. Without you guys there too digivolve then, they'd be more of a liability than a help."

"TK!? He's alive too?" Matt jumped up at the sound of his brother's name, his shoulders slumping as all the tension left him.

"We should've known. Where else was he going to go?" Ken mused at the revelation. Despite the relatively good news they had to offer, Mister Matsuda cleared his throat again, "I hate to ruin this parade but what the hell about our son!? What happened to Takato!?"

The mood soured again. Rika glanced towards Juri, "We don't really know. The only one who would know is Juri since she's the one who found out first. Tamer wouldn't repeat what he told her and Juri's...not been great ever since-"

She paused again, realizing that she might have just brought up a very painful memory for Juri. However, the girl hardly seemed to notice anything was said at all. In fact, she just stood there staring ever since they first returned from the Digital World. The poor girl must've been shellshocked - traumatized first from finding out that Takato was dead and again from witnessing Leomon die. She didn't know what to say to her and could only place a hand and on her shoulder, "Hey, it'll be alright."

"You poor girl, I'm so sorry," her mother said, going to hug the poor girl. Juri didn't react, continuing to stare off into space. It was unnerving. Rika has to look away because of how terrifying she looked like this. As she scanned the other adults, she realized something, "Hey, where're her parents?"

"They didn't come, remember?" Doctor Kido remarked, making his way to the girl and resting a hand on her head, "It's a shame. It seems like she could use her family right about now."

It was obvious that Mister Matsuda was still steaming though and was about to snap when Doctor Kido apologetically told him, "She's in no condition to talk to anyone right now. We can ask her tomorrow. For now, she should be with her family."

"Her? What about my family!? What happened to my son!?" Mister Matsuda roared with increasing anger. Doctor Kido crossed his arms and stepped up to him, "You need to relax. I understand you're upset but would knowing actually make you feel any better or would it just make you angrier? I think what you should do is take a deep breath and take a walk to clear your head."

Mister Matsuda paused for a second, his wife still trying to hold him back before he let loose in a flurry of anger. That moment of lucidity appeared to finally calm him down, until he lashed out in anger at the doctor by striking him across the face. It seemed that moment of lucidity didn't last as long as it needed to. Doctor Kido fell backwards onto the roof while Mister Matsuda massaged his hand, "When you lose your only child, then you can talk to me about calming down."

He turned to leave, kicking everything he could find in a fit of anger. His wife trailed behind for a second, hesitating to follow him - perhaps even unsure of what she should do next. After all, did it matter? She'd just been told her only son was dead and not coming back. And who wanted to hear that news? Rika looked to the digidestined present - wondering if any of them would have anything to say about it. Between the eleven of them - they'd lost parents, siblings, but never kids. Even if any of them could relate, she doubted either Matsuda would appreciate the sympathy.

"I think it'd be best if we all head home tonight and cleared our heads," Henry's dad finally said, "The kids had a long trip and I'm sure they all want to go home and have a good night's rest for the first time in a long time."

"Ain't that the truth," Kazu agreed, putting his hands behind his head. Yamaki waved to get their attention, "I can arrange for transport to get you kids and your digimon home discreetly."

"What about-" Kenta whispered quietly, gesturing at Juri who continue to just stare off into space. Calumon whimpered, "It's not Juri. It's not. Please, something's happened to her!"

"Calm down, Calumon," Kazu said with a scolding voice. Unfortunately that tone seemed to be it for Calumon who ran for the edge of the roof, "No. I don't like it. She's scaring me!"

Henry and Xiaochun tried to chase him to the edge but their dad stopped them before they could get close. Several of the guards tried to secure him but he was too small and fast for them to catch. Before anyone could stop it, Calumon's ears grew in size and he used them like wings to glide away off the edge of the roof.

Everyone cursed the luck of Calumon getting away like that but nothing could be done about it. Kenta groaned, "Man, and we went through all that trouble just to get him."

"Never mind. It's not like the Devas are coming to take him again. As long as he's here, he's safe," Renamon assured him, "Besides, we have other things to worry about."

She gestured to Juri; Rika's mom has pulled away from the hug and was trying to talk to her but she didn't seem to respond to anything.

Yamaki adjusted his shades, "We can have an agent escort her home. It'd probably be for the best."

"I can do it," Kari volunteered with a raised hand, going over to her student. Yamaki nodded, "Alright. We can figure out the rest of this tomorrow. It's been a long day."

Rika was glad that at least her teacher was willing to be with her. She was ready to leave when she noticed Renamon hanging back, "What's wrong, Renamon?"

Her partner gestured at the small imp laying unconscious in her arms, "What about Impmon?"

"What about him?" Kazu answered coldly. Rika understood where her partner was going with this - they couldn't just leave him here to the Hypnos Program. Especially with what those guys did to digimon. On the other hand, helping him was a tough sell after what he did to Leomon. After what he did to the rest of them. Then again, whatever Tamerkato did to him was definitely punishment enough. The poor guy had been screaming forever, before he was knocked unconscious.

She took a moment to consider but couldn't reach a decision. Her partner put her faith in her that she would help save the Digital World. Why not return the favor? She sighed, "Do whatever you think is right."

"Thank you," Renamon nodded her head and adjusted the little digimon in her arms so that she was cradling him like an infant, "I'll meet you back in your house. Good night."

She vanished after that. Yamaki sighed as he massaged his head, "Great, more digimon getting loose in the city. Why am I still surprised at this point? This'll be a fun report to the Minister."

* * *

Kari tried to think of what to say to her student - a poor girl who had been through as much trauma in the Digital World as she had in her time as a digidestined. Between Myotismon's attack, her brother's disappearance, the Dark Masters, and everything else - her brother may come in and out of her life...but she'd never lost a partner like that. Hell, she didn't even know what she'd do if Gatomon were to die and not come back. Although she had worried about her partner for the longest time. She at least knew her partner was safe.

But Juri?

All she could do was hold the girl's hand as she walked her home. They reached the train station and bought some tickets for the two of them, the whole time trying to think of what to say her. The fact that she didn't talk at all wasn't helping. She'd bought her a soda and some crackers so she could at least have a snack but the girl didn't even seem to notice. But she hardly registered that she was holding either the drink or the packet of crackers. It was just silent staring off into space, barely reacting or acknowledging the world around her.

It didn't get any better when they got on the train and she sat silently, staring straight ahead without saying a word with the crackers and drink in hand. Kari made sure to take a car that no one else was using in the hopes that she'd feel more comfortable with privacy. But it didn't seem to matter. In fact, she barely even moved when the train lurched forward. It was like she was a doll - a mannequin in the shape of Juri. Kari did the only thing she could think of, "I'm sorry about what happened in the Digital World, Juri. I wish you didn't have to go through that."

No response.

"I understand that you're hurt. But I want you to know that you can talk to me about it. I'm not just your homeroom teacher, y'know. I'm also one of you. A digidestined," Kari offered. Still no response. This wasn't going to work. She needed to change her approach. But what else could she do? She couldn't force Juri to talk to her. All she could do was try to be there for her, be someone that Juri could feel at ease with.

"Nutritional Facts. Serving Size: One Can. One Hundred Forty Calories per serving. Zero percent daily value of total fat. Two percent daily value of sodium. Roughly forty-five milligrams. Fourteen percent daily value of Total carbohydrates. Roughly thirty-nine grams. Seventy eight percent daily value of sugars. Zero percent daily value of proteins. Not a significant source of saturated fat, transfat, cholesterol, fiber, vitamin D, calcium, iron, and potassium. Ingredients. Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, caramel color, phosphoric acid, natural flavors, caffeine."

"Juri?" Kari blinked as her student continued to read the side of the can of soda she'd been given. It seemed her whole world had become reading the side of the soda can. And once she finished, she started reading the side bag of crackers. Kari snapped her fingers to get her attention, but Juri was laser focused on her reading more than anything. Maybe this was a coping mechanism? She knew her student would use a sock puppet to communicate with others if she felt overwhelmed and had something she had a hard time saying. But this, this was something else entirely. It was madness.

Then the lights of the train started to flicker - flashing on and off. She was beginning to rethink her concerns about being alone in an empty car and grabbed a hold of her student defensively, "Hang on."

The lights flickered repeated until finally stopping, shrouding the car in darkness. This had to be a trap. A portal to the Digital World? A digimon appearing? It had to be something. Then there was a bright flash of light that briefly blinded them. When she could open her eyes again, the lights were back on and Tamer was lying on the ground, "Damn. I hate trying to land on moving targets. Are you okay Guilmon?"

"I'm fine. My head feels heavy," the red dinosaur said from the ground beside him, upside down in his seat. Tamer helped the poor dinosaur and adjusted himself, "That's because you were upside down. That happens when I try to land on a moving target since it's hard to match the momentum when I have to consider the rotation of the universe around us. Earth is spinning at hundreds of miles an hour, rotating around another star going thousands of miles an hour, while also falling through...never mind."

"Is that a food?" Guilmon asked.

"TAMER!" Kari gasped in surprise, quietly moving Juri behind her. In Juri's current state, she was sure he was the last person she wanted to talk to. Tamer adjusted himself, massaging his head, "Hi Kari."

"Where'd you go?" seemed like the wrong question to ask. There were a hundred questions running through her head. And none of them sounded appropriate. Takato or Tamer or Tamerkato or whatever he was going by now shook his head, "I figured that everyone would want nothing more than me to not be there. All the punches I've been getting lately got that message across."

"Punches? Tamer...I mean...no, what are you doing here?" Kari finally managed to get out. Once he finished straightening himself out, he approached the two of them and separated them, "Here to talk. Not to you, Kari. But we can talk later if you'd like. I'm here to talk to you. Where's Juri?"

He was pointing at Juri. Kari was beginning to think he'd finally lost it. No, when did he ever have it? This was insane. He said again, "Look, I know you're not Juri. It's not just the behavior, which is completely off. And the dead eyes stare is wrong too. The smells not doing you any favors either. No, what gave it away was the sock puppet. Juri always uses the sock puppet when she has a hard time saying what's on her mind. She'd be distressed over what's been going on lately. But she hasn't used her sock puppet once. So who the hell are you and what are you doing here?"

"If you knew, why didn't you say something sooner?" Juri replied, her eyes moving up and down over Tamer curiously. The way the two of them were looking at each other, she was certain they were going to start throwing fists. However, Tamer indulged her, "I was waiting to see what you would do. You're in our world now. What do you want?"

"Information. The nemesis is strong in power. A tactical withdrawal was necessary. There were complications, unexpected hurdles. The tactical withdrawal has turned into an advance. A two front sat," Juri replied monotonously, "New subjects were encountered. At this time, there is insufficient information to properly process them. More information is needed. This world may contain the key to victory."

"Victory against what?"

"The nemesis."

"We're getting off topic. Where's Juri?" Tamer demanded angrily. Juri cocker her head to the side and smiled wickedly, "The subject designated Juri is here. Surrendering control of the face."

Juri's face twisted from one of passive indifference to pure terror as she shrieked, "AH! WHAT'S HAPPENING? WHERE AM I!? WHY CAN'T I MOVE? TAKATO!? HELP ME! FOR THE LOVE OF-"

Her face switched back to a passively indifferent expression and her voice became monotonous, "-control of the face reacquired."

Tamer froze, "You're in her body."

Something like a smile twisted on to her face: a big wide toothy grin spread wider than it should be, "Of course. She invited it. She allowed it."

"Invited it? She's a ten year old girl who was emotionally devastated from the death of her partner! She wasn't in a mental state to allow anything!" Tamer snapped.

"She wanted it," Juri answered cheerily. Something about that shook her and she growled, "What the hell!? What have you done to my student."

"Relieved her of her suffering. Of her guilt. Of her anger and her frustration," Juri replied. Whatever was inside Juri, was controlling her body, said it with such sickening glee that Kari wanted nothing more than to hurt it. But how? She wasn't even sure how it was inside her body. And hurting this thing would just hurt Juri.

"Who are you?" Tamer demanded angrily. The thing that was inside Juri looked at her with an even bigger smile, "I've been given many designations over the time of my existence. Destroyer. Devourer. Death. The Beast. However, these designations are just words use to ascribed to some meaning to my existence in an ill conceived attempt by lesser beings to comprehend me."

"Big words and a lot of talk, but not a lot of answers," Tamer tapped his foot impatiently, "Who. Are. You?"

It cackled, "I am your reckoning. My existence is to purge the dangerous. The powerful. To balance the scale and give the smaller life forms a fighting chance. Until they grow too strong. The scales must be balanced. The world must understand its natural order. All life will die. All endings lead to new beginnings. I am the-"

"Bored now," Tamer interrupted. Juri's twisted smile disappeared and turned to one of twisted anger, "Your callous disregard for the common etiquette and shift in attitude indicates a level of cockiness or confidence not shared by your peers. Your confidence could be due to an immeasurable level of stupidity because you don't quite grasp the situation you're in. But we both know that's wrong. So it must come from a level of confidence in your own ability of strength to feel unthreatened by me. And I can assure you that you should be very afraid - because my purpose is to destroy people like you."

"You're the computer program the others made to manage the Digital World," Tamer concluded. Kari looked from Juri to Tamer, unsure what was going to happen next. But this was not a safe place to be. This train and everyone on it was in great danger. Juri's creepy smile returned, "The Digital World fears me. This world will fear me too!"

"But that's not possible. You're a data life form! A data life form can't just merge with organic life form. That's...that's not possible," he stammered in disbelief. Juri cocker her head to the side, "It is possible. It's happened before. It can happen again."

"Bioemerging," Tamer gasped, "You biomerged. You tried to anyway but you...oh...no..."

"The scales must be balanced. You are a clear and present danger to those around you," Juri said, reaching out towards Tamer with her hands. Tamer's eyes widen in terror at that statement and he stepped back towards Kari, "Hang on to me. Digiport Open!"

He held his digivice up in the air. Kari latched onto him as there was another bright flash of light. She closed her eyes, familiar with the sensation of falling until it went away and was replaced with the cold chill of the night air. She opened her eyes and found herself on top of a building beside Tamer and Guilmon. He dusted himself off and apologized, "Are you alright Kari?"

"I'm fine. What the hell was that?" she said, trying to gain her bearings. They were on a rooftop now, somewhere in the city. On closer inspection, they were not too far from where they'd gotten on the train. They were in Shinjuku, not too far from the Metropolitan Building. Tamer readjusted his clothes, "A bad situation. A very bad problem. The thing terrorizing the Digital World, that made the Sovereigns and the Devas freak out, that started this whole thing...it's here. In Tokyo. And I think I'm the reason it got loose in this world."

"What do you mean?" Kari's voice shook, quavering with an anger for Tamer she didn't know she'd had before. He held up his hand to calm her down and tried to massage her head, "Sorry, I need a moment to think."

Kari was about to snap. She considered her words carefully before speaking, making sure to watch her tone so that she didn't explode on him, "Tamer, I've been nothing but patient and giving you moments. Ever since you first showed up in my apartment when I was a kid. Ever since your disappeared out of my life. Three times. Talk to me! Keep me in the loop! What is going on!? What the hell was that and why is it here?"

Tamer massaged his temples, "I noticed something was wrong with Juri after Leomon died but didn't want to cause more problems so I didn't say anything. And I needed to be sure that whatever was pretending to be her wasn't a threat. But I definitely screwed that up and now there's a crazy monster that kills everything it sees and eats everything it kills running around Tokyo in the shape of a ten year old girl. And I...oh shit."

He stopped and stared off into space without saying a word. He fell quiet and Kari felt her frustration bubbling. She cursed, "Oh shit? Tamer, tell me you've got some kind of a plan. Tell me you know how to beat this. Tell me it's all under control."

No response. She was getting really tired of that. She snapped, "TAMER!?"

Tamer turned her head with his hand to see what he was seeing. And she knew why he'd fallen silent. She wasn't sure what to do. There was a great big red gelatinous mass in the center of the city that hadn't been there before. In fact, now that she thought about it, that was right where the train had been a moment ago. That was where their train was a second ago. It was a lot to process how much danger they were in, "Oh shit."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Tamer's inaction allowed another monster to escape into the Human World. What disaster awaits the human world? How many more will die because of him? Can the combined strength of the digidestined and tamers save them? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name, due out in three weeks on Friday, January 31st at 8 PM CST. Let me know what you guys think in the reviews section. And don't forget to like the story to show support and to follow to keep up with all the latest updates. Yes, I'm taking another three week break to focus on editing and writing. I hope you guys don't mind how frequent they've been of late - switching between night and day shift is messing with me. That's all I have for now, let's look at a preview for the next chapter!

" _Hmm?" Impmon cracked an eye open and looked around, still in a daze and struggling to stand up right. She crossed her arms, "Welcome back to the land of the living."_

" _I'm alive?" Impmon looked down at himself, carefully inspecting every inch of his body for some damage. Renamon nodded, "Yes, although there were some of us who were unsure you deserved the courtesy."_

 _Impmon gave no answer, obviously still amazed that he was here and alive to be having this discussion. There was a distraught look in his eyes - a haunted gaze she'd seen only in the most traumatized of digimon before they were destroyed by other, stronger digimon. She tilted her head, "What happened to you?"_


	37. The Shinjuku Quarantine

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 37: The Shinjuku Quarantine**

Renamon gazed down at Impmon's unconscious form, laying on his back on the tree branch in the garden of the Makino household. Or Izumi, or Nonaka, or whatever it really was. As frustrating as it was to deal with, she knew that was at the bottom of their list of issues. First was what they were going to do when they got back to the Digital World. Second was what they were going to do about Impmon. She'd helped him out of a moment of pity - but was unsure if he deserved it after what he did. She closed her eyes and ruminated on it briefly, trying to reach a conclusion but unsatisfied with everything that came to mind.

He had killed Leomon - one of the partner digimon of the children who were going to save their world. And he'd done it for what? To test his power? She was unsure what to make of it since he'd always chosen to avoid fighting in the past - claiming that the smartest would survive. So was it really smart to run head first into a battle out of pure blood lust? And why his hatred towards the humans? His distrust for them far exceeded anything demonstrated by the Devas or the Sovereigns. And they had more reason to be weary than Impmon.

"Hmm?" Impmon cracked an eye open and looked around, still in a daze and struggling to stand up right. She crossed her arms, "Welcome back to the land of the living."

"I'm alive?" Impmon looked down at himself, carefully inspecting every inch of his body for some damage. Renamon nodded, "Yes, although there were some of us who were unsure you deserved the courtesy. You're alive only because Juri decided to show you a moment of mercy. The girl whose partner you killed."

Impmon gave no answer, obviously still amazed that he was here and alive to be having this discussion. There was a distraught look in his eyes - a haunted gaze she'd seen only in the most traumatized of digimon before they were destroyed by other, stronger digimon. She tilted her head, "Regretting what you did?"

"I don't…know how to say it…I saw so many…so many…" he was struggling to put into words. Whatever the Digimon Tamer had done to him clearly did a number - Impmon was reduced to rambling like a madman. After a moment, he shook his head, "I don't know."

"Use your words," she pressed. He massaged his temples and closed his eyes so hard she was sure he was going to pass out again, "I don't want to. Whatever that was. Whatever I saw. I don't want to see it again. I don't want to think of it."

She should've suspected as much, "The Digimon Tamer said he put a bad memory in your head. If it did that to you, one can only imagine what it did to him."

"That was a memory? I thought it was a nightmare!" Impmon protested angrily, "What the hell kinda human is that? He's a kid!"

"He isn't. He's a digital being - like you or me and he's even older than either of us," Renamon explained, "I thought you said the smart would survive. The smart thing to do would've been to not run into that situation head first without a plan. So why'd you do it? What possessed you to attack us?"

Impmon fell quiet again, staring down at his hands and then looking skyward. He jumped up upon seeing the skyline, "We're back in the human world!?"

"Yes, now answer my question. What happened?" Renamon pressed, becoming annoyed, "Why did you attack us!? You wanted to test your power but why on us?"

Impmon averted his gaze, "I wanted to prove that digimon could become strong without humans. That we didn't need partners. I guess I was right, though. In the end, that old kid and his insane red dragon were the only ones who could beat me - one's not even human and the other ain't any kind of digimon I've seen before."

Renamon felt herself shaking from his answer. Was that it? That was why he did all this? It was taking all her effort to restrain herself from doing anything rash, "You killed Leomon to make a point?"

No answer.

"You took a life, prevented it from reformatting, killed a good digimon in front of a ten year old girl…definitely traumatized her forever. All to make a point," Renamon repeated quietly, shaking with uncontrolled anger. He still wouldn't look at her. This must be how Rika feels any time she has to be around the Digimon Tamer. It was no wonder she was prone to fits of anger. Still, she needed to know, "Why do you have so much animosity towards humans!?"

"BECAUSE WHY COULDN'T I GET ONE OF THE GOOD ONES!?" Impmon snapped at her. That was not the answer she was expecting from him. She recalled Tamer mentioning he had a bad partner but bad enough to make him like that? What kind of human was capable of making Impmon like this? It didn't excuse any of his actions - they were still unforgivable - but she had no idea that he'd been hurting this whole time.

"The Digimon Tamer said you had a partner. We determined that much," she said quietly, more repeating the fact than anything else. He nodded, "I had _partners_. These two kids. And they fought over everything! Toys! Food! Clothes! And everything they fought over, they eventually broke. It was only a matter of time until they broke me. Hell, they probably already did. So I ran from that place before they could make it any worse and never looked back. And I don't regret it for a moment."

Renamon notes the hesitation in his voice, "Even after everything you did? Killing Leomon? Forcing a little girl to watch?"

Once again he gave no answer and just stared off into space. She was getting really annoyed with his evasiveness, "Did you ever try talking to them? Working things out?"

"What do I look like, some kinda counselor?" Impmon raised an eyebrow, "Y'know what? We've been answering all your questions so how's about you answers one o' mine?"

That was fair, "What did you want to know?"

"Why are we back in the human world?" Impmon asked quietly. There was a lot to answer there, "We figured out the cause of all of this and it isn't good by any measure. We returned to this world to regroup before we headed back to deal with it. After all, everyone was tired and Juri was in no condition to continue. Not after what you did."

"Will ya stop tryin' to guilt me? That's the last thing I need!" Impmon protested angrily. Renamon remained passive, "I answered the question. Now answer mine! What are you going to do now?"

"Wha!?" Impmon gave her a quizzical look. Renamon picked the digimon up by his scarf, "You got your power and it amounted to nothing. Your own stated distrust of humans was built on your past experiences with your partner. But you were clearly the exception, not the rule. You said it was all about survival. So are you going to continue out on your own, as much good as it's done you. Or are you going to go back to your partners?"

Impmon stared downward at the garden in silence, clearly contemplating the answer. Renamon waited for it eagerly until she felt a sudden energy in the air that made her fur stand on end. She looked upwards, over the horizon and saw a massive red blob in the distance. The red mass that they'd fought in the Digital World. It was here. It was in the human world. Impmon saw it too and his jaw fell open, "Well I know what I'm doing first. I'm getting away from that!"

She didn't try to stop him, letting him run away. It seemed that was what he was best at. Running away from danger.

But there was no time to dwell on him. That thing was here now. She knew now that there would be no going back to the Digital World. Not if it was here.

* * *

"This was the scene today in downtown Tokyo as the gelatinous red mass continues to expand. It's been five hours since the mass first appeared and now the mass has absorbed three square blocks of the city. Government officials have declared the area a quarantine zone and are advising citizens to stay at least a mile away. The Self Defense Force continues to evacuate citizens to camps outside the city, however unrest grows as questions go answered. And now we go to our resident expert at the studio-"

Yamaki switched off the news and groaned angrily at the situation. The Minister of Defense was breathing down his neck to solve the problem and he had no solutions. He had no idea what this problem even was. It wasn't like with the wild ones - they could at least be captured and contained, or put down if that wasn't an option. But this thing - this mass. It was too big to properly contain and none of the weapons they'd developed to fight 'digimon' were proving effective.

They couldn't tranquilize it, it didn't respond to magnets or electrical shocks or anything. If he didn't come up with something soon, it would be his ass.

His phone rang, pulling him out of his thoughts, "Director Yamaki speaking."

"Director, this is the Prime Minister," the man on the other end said. He froze up, feeling the color drain from his face as the nation's leader spoke, "Tell me you have a plan for this."

"We're exercising all our options, sir," Yamaki answered, "We're readying to fire Juggernaut again, and currently have our scientists working around the clock to better study what we're up against."

He doubted the Prime Minister appreciated his assurances, especially with his current track record regarding the wild ones. He massaged the bridge of his nose as he prepared for whatever answer the Minister would give, "Your department hasn't had the best of luck when it comes to dealing with these other worldly threats. Since discretion is no longer a factor, I'm authorizing the Defense Force to step in. Im giving operational command to the general and I Hypnos providing support and intelligence."

"Sir, with all due respect, that's in violation of the Morpheus Project," Yamaki reminded him, "If you don't want the United Nations Security Council coming down on us, I strongly recommend operating within our-"

"We both know that's a crock of shit, Yamaki. Be realistic. The Chinese, the French, the British, the Russians...hell, the Americans violate more UN agreements before breakfast. Who gives a shit about the UN right now? Let's focus on dealing with the problem with everything we have. I'm not having another Odaiba Incident. Do you understand?"

Yamaki hesitated, unprepared for this specific scenario. Agreeing meant breaking several international agreements, which he was sure the Prime Minister would happily blame him for to save face. Alternatively, refusing would lead to his arrest for treason. He would need to play his cards carefully going forward. And he could only do that if he was in charge of his team, "Whatever you need sir."

Carefully chosen words. He could argue that he was following orders from the Prime Minister if this ever came back to bite him.

"Good, get it done," the Prime Minister responded. The line went dead and Yamaki took a moment to consider his situation. Time for reflection like this was enough to make him understand that his situation was infuriating. He needed to stay calm and think rationally. But he had nothing for this. He was being set up as the fall guy. But that was going to happen over his dead body. He could afford to be emotional, if only for a moment. All that anger and rage and frustration erupted as throwing the phone as hard as he could at the wall - smashing it to pieces and denting the dry wall. He would not take the fall for these men. Not after everything he'd done to keep this nation - this world safe.

This was no longer just a mission to save the world. This was a mission to save the world and destroy their of these feckless politicians - he was going to burn all his bridges and leave them standing in the ruin.

* * *

Henry couldn't believe his eyes as his parents watched the news over breakfast. The red mass that had threatened the Digital World was now in their world. But how? Had it followed them when they came back? Was it their fault?

As his mind raced in a panic, the news reporter went on, "Military personnel are quarantining the area and preventing anyone from getting closer but the mass absorbs all barricades placed to contain it. If you look over my shoulder, the trucks parked on the street and walls erected to contain the mass are now partially absorbed. They also appear to be setting up weapons for a conventional attack on the target - we've seen tanks, helicopters, transport vehicles and-"

The reporter was cut off as a soldier appeared behind him, "Hey! We told you to back up! Shut off that camera! This is a designated quarantine zone. You will move back now!"

Before either the reporter or the soldier could say anymore, gunfire could be heard followed by terrified screams. As the news cut back to the reporters in the station, Henry heard a loud bang followed by the apartment shaking. Terriermon ran to the window, "Well that's not good. We thought we'd be safe here but it followed us."

Henry turned his attention to the window and saw smoke rising over the buildings, in the direction of the red mass. Of the D-Reaper. He shuddered, knowing what he had to do but still terrified by what he would have to do. His partner elbowed his leg, or did something similar to it and Henry regained his resolve, "We need to go help."

His mom didn't take to that and she roared, "Henry, are you insane!? You'll get yourself killed!"

He should've expected his mom's disapproval, "Mom! That thing is destroying the Digital World! The world Terriermon came from! If I don't go...if this isn't stopped before it gets out of hand, then our world will be next! Terriermon and I need to go out there now while we can still do something about it."

"It's not just you two. I'm going to hurry back to the Metropolitan Building," his dad added anxiously, hurrying to grab the phone, "I'm going to call Yamaki now. The sooner we get involved, the better."

"Again!? Dear, don't tell me you're involved in this!?" his mom cried out in anger. His dad shook his head sheepishly, "Honestly? If it's anything to do with the digimon, then I made the problem! Henry! Make sure you and Terriermon come back safe!"

"Will do dad!" Henry called out, scooping up his partner and rushing for the door. As he slipped his shoes on, Xiaochun ran up along side him and tried to follow suit, "I'm coming too! We can help!"

"Am I the only one who thinks this is a terrible idea? I mean, I'm literally a fraction of my size right now and she wants to rush out there with you!" Lopmon asked from behind them.

"That's why you guys are going to stay here!" Henry said so loudly, he nearly shouted. He didn't want his sister getting involved in this mess and gently nudged her back inside, "Sorry, I don't mean to shout. But you need to stay here."

"Henry! I want to help!" she whined, "I have a digivice too! I can help! And Lopmon will come too, right?"

"Don't you dare put words in my mouth," Lopmon protested with folded arms.

"I-" he paused, knowing she wasn't going to take no for an answer. She was as stubborn as she was small. Although, he supposed that meant she was going to be very strong willed as an adult. He needed to convince her to stay with another reason, "You can help by protecting our family while I'm out, okay?"

She glared at him, catching on to the lie right away. Of course she did. It was obvious. But he wasn't about to let her rush out into danger like this. Not when their lives when in danger. Finally, she huffed, "Fine!"

"Don't worry, okay? I'll be back!" he said, finishing putting on his shoes and running outside with Terriermon on his head. There wasn't any more point in discretion. Not anymore.

The streets were just short of being full of panic, with armed soldiers keeping everyone calm as they directed traffic down set roads to help clear the city. Buses packed full of people moved along side those who'd packed their families into cars while everyone else walked. He must've looked crazy going in the opposite direction - but he ran as fast as he could through the crowds until he came across a soldier blocking him off, "Hey! Watch it kid! We're evacuating! You're heading in the wrong direction!"

Henry looked past the soldier at tent where more soldiers worked at a makeshift command center. Computers were hooked up to various radios and antenna that all fed into a rocket truck. He panicked at the sight of it, "You're not planning of shooting rockets in the city, are you?"

"That's not your business, kid. Now get back! I'm not saying it again," the soldier warned again. Henry tried reasoning him but he didn't expect it to go anywhere, "You don't understand! Those won't work! You can make it rain missiles all you want, they won't do anything against a monster like-"

The soldier raised a rifle and pointed it at him, making a point of clicking off the safety. Henry raised up his hands and stepped back quietly, "Okay! I'm getting back!"

"Kids these days have no respect," the soldier muttered quietly.

He stepped backwards several steps until the soldier lowered his gun, then turned and ran. There was no getting through to this soldier. And he definitely wasn't going to get past this soldier either. He would need to change his approach - otherwise he'd risk getting shot at.

"Psst! Henry!" Rika called out to him from a nearby side street, poking her head out around the corner. He nodded and ran to join her, ducking into the side street to see Ryo there too with Monodramon and Renamon. Ryo crossed his arms and groaned, "Don't bother talking to them. We already tried that and they just got mad at us."

"What are they even doing? They don't seriously think that'll work, do they? It's literally absorbing everything it touches. It'll probably just absorb the bullets and missiles too. And I doubt the explosions will do them any good," Monodramon observed.

"Okay, take a running start!" a soldier called out. They poked their heads around the corner again to see a soldier holding a model plane in his hands. It was probably about half his height, but the wings were wide enough to mount what looked like small cameras. He raised it over his head and took a running start towards the red mass, throwing it with all his might as the propellor kicked on and it soared straight into the mass, "UAV is in the air! Receiving a signal in five!"

"UAV?" Renamon repeated.

"You got me," Henry shrugged. The soldiers were too far away to hear properly and it was hard to make out anything else. After a few moments, one of the soldiers jumped out of his chair and threw his helmet on the ground in a fit of anger, "Piece of shit! How did it lose a signal? It's fifty feet away! I could fucking see it with my own eyes if that stupid red jelly weren't there!"

"Sergeant! Watch your language!" another of the soldiers barked at him, quieting the soldier down. Rika scoffed and turned away, "Saw that one coming a mile away. Of course it absorbed it. What's over there anyway?"

"Apartments and I think some tracks," Henry answered, peeking over again to see the soldier getting scolded by what must've been a superior. Rika scratched her head, "Okay, but why here? None of us were anywhere near here last night…"

"Wait, didn't that one lady take Juri home last night?" Ryo asked aloud. Renamon's tone changed, "You don't think that she's in there, do you?"

"Wait, I'm not following. What's going on?" Terriermon asked quietly. Henry realized all too quickly what Ryo was getting at and was horrified by the realization explained, "The teacher from my school - Miss Asaji or Kari Kamiya or whoever - she said she was going to take Juri home since they didn't need to hide a digimon and her parents weren't there. I bet you they were on that train!"

"So that thing followed us here? How would it have come through though?" Terriermon asked, still not following the conversation. Henry scratched his head, "I don't know. Juri was acting weird after everything that happened with Leomon. It could be connected. It could just be a really random coincidence. We have no real way of knowing at this point. Anything's possible. For all we know, Tamerkato's the one responsible for all of this!"

"You guys should really lighten up on him," Terriermon frowned. Renamon looked upward, "It doesn't matter for now. We're on our own. We should fight."

"And how are we going to do that with the military right there? They'll shoot you on sight!" Rika gasped in panic, "I don't want to lose you or see you get hurt because of them!"

* * *

The sergeant threw his helmet in a fit of anger. That was several million yen down the drain with no chance of being recovered. Still, they needed to know what was going on in there. They needed to be able to see what happened to anyone who would've been absorbed by this thing when it first showed up. But there was no way to do that safely. And the drone was their only chance.

He looked at the ever expanding red mass and wondered just what it was - where had it come from and what was it after? Was it even alive? Or was this some really weird magma flow? That couldn't be possible. Ambient air temperature was the same. It wasn't hot. It wasn't radioactive. It just…was. It existed.

An amorphous blob that was growing faster than it could be contained.

Part of its surface bubbled like something was trying to escape. Then a golden eye appeared. He took a step back and blinked in surprise, "Hey guys? The thing has an eye now."

"An eye?" one of the soldiers repeated. Some of his squad approached, each with their hands on their pistols for safety - not that it would do them much good against this thing. If it was this big, there was no doubt bullets wouldn't even hurt it.

The eye blinked, bulging from the red surface until a face of purple skin protruded from the surface. Then another. And another appeared. Each broke free from the surface of the red mass - taking the shape of something like a bird. Or what a bird might look to someone who'd only ever heard of a bird.

The basic shape was there - but the proportions were all wrong and it didn't seem to understand how birds worked. Eyes on the wings, claws coming from its body, and legs that seemed more like wires connecting it back to the main red mass. And the wings - they didn't flap but the bird creature was able to hover in the air in defiance of every natural law. Like the wings were just for show and they flew of their own accord.

And before anyone knew it, there were hundreds of them just hovering in the air. Then they scattered, flying in hundreds of different directions around the city all at once. They couldn't be allowed to get away. They had to be contained. They couldn't be allowed to wreak havoc on the city.

* * *

"OPEN FIRE!" a soldier shouted from around the corner. Everyone poked their heads out again to see soldiers firing aimlessly at a flock of bird like creatures flying above in the sky. Ryo blinked and did a double take of what he was seeing. They weren't birds - they were something else. Something completely unnatural. And there were hundreds of them. But with all the bullets flying in the air, it didn't seem to matter. The bird things zipped around the hail of bullets like nothing and proceeded forward - scattering around the city and going in many different directions.

Rika leapt out from behind the corner and declared, "If Juri is in there then we can't leave her hanging. We have to help! Come on Renamon!"

She stood there for a moment, holding her digivice in the air and striking an odd pose. Renamon poked her in the side, "What are you doing, Rika?"

"Is this one of those living statues things?" Ryo asked, unsure of what Rika was doing. Rika looked up at her digivice and frowned, "What gives? Why isn't it working?"

"Why isn't what working?" Ryo looked at the digivice in confusion, still trying to understand what she was doing. She turned to both boys and held up her digivice for them to see, "That bio-digivolution-dna-merge thing? It worked in the Digital World! Why isn't it working here? We need to become Sakuyamon!"

"Let me try," Henry said, raising up his digivice. After a moment with nothing happening, he started swiping cards at random to no effect. It did make Terriermon twitch in excitement with every single card swipe as he complained, "Henry! Knock it off! I'm getting dizzy from all the power ups!"

"It's not working for me, either!" Henry gasped. It was a shame. This would have been a really good time to have both Sakuyamon and MegaGargomon. After all, those two seemed to be the only digimon fully capable of actually harming whatever the hell the red bio mass was. However, they couldn't afford to give up now. There were people in trouble. He gently nudged both Rika and Henry, "It doesn't matter! We're just going to have to get in there and support our partners. Monodramon, promise you won't go crazy?"

"Only on whatever those things are," the little purple dragon cheered ecstatically, "I've been waiting for a good fight!"

"Okay!" Ryo charged out first, his partner following close behind and then rushing ahead of them. Ryo stopped just a few feet from one of the soldiers and took out the red card, "Digimodify! Digivolution Activate!"

"Monodramon! Warp Digivolve to! Cyberdramon!"

The dragon digimon roared to life with a flash of bright light and leapt up into the fight, soaring over the soldiers heads to attack the bird-like creatures. For all the good it did as they were moving too fast for him to catch up to. He swiped another card, "DigiModify! Speed Boost Activate!"

With the new power up, Cyberdramon was able to close the gap with one of the bird things. He tore into it with his razor sharp claws but was barely able to hurt the thing - in fact, it hardly seemed to notice that it was being attacked at all. Before Ryo could swipe another card through, one of the soldiers picked him up, "What the hell are you doing here, kid!? This is an active combat zone! Cover me! I'm getting the civvie out of the fight!"

"Squad! Fall back! Igarashi! Toyotomi! Cover our retreat" the lead soldier barked out, ironically further back from the fighting than the rest of the soldiers. Two of the soldiers turned their weapons on Cyberdramon, trying to get a bead on him as they fired, "New contact! Open fire!"

"NO!" Ryo shouted at them, but his cries were drowned out with the sound of gunfire.

"I wouldn't do that," Renamon said, appearing beside some of the soldiers and kicking their weapons out of their hands. A few of them reached for their pistols and took aim at her but were unable to fire before she moved beside them, hitting the weapons out of their hands. Rika and Henry finally stepped out from behind the alley and called out to the guards, "Seriously? She moved so fast that none of you saw her until it was too late. What makes you think pointing a gun at her is a good idea!?"

"Go easy on them," Henry chided her, nodding to his partner who finally ran into the fight with a great big smile. Henry swiped his cards through his deck and called out, "DigiModify! Digivolution Activate!"

Rika followed his lead and did the same, swiping her own card through her digivice. Both partners rose up into the air as they digivolved in bright flashes of light.

"Terriermon! Warp Digivolve to! Rapidmon!"

"Renamon! Warp Digivolve to! Taomon!"

The two ultimates joined along side Cyberdramon, trying to inflict some harm on the flock of bird like creatures before any of them could get away. Together, the three of them actually were able to hit some of the creatures but it didn't seem as if their attacks actually did anything to harm them. The soldiers were too caught up by what they were seeing to actually notice how ineffectual their attacks were. The soldier carrying Ryo finally set him down on the ground, "Who the hell are you kids?"

Ryo, Henry, and Rika exchanged glances. Ryo wasn't sure how to explain anything to these soldiers. After all, the whole situation was absurdly fantastic. Then again, they'd probably believe anything too. Ryo stammered, "We're…um…we're…"

"Here to help," Henry answered for him, "Right, guys?"

"Yeah, but who the hell are you?" the soldier asked again. Rika scoffed, "Those are our digimon. And we are digimon tamers!"

* * *

Kari finished cooking some eggs and ham, setting up bowls of rice for herself, Guilmon, and Tamer. Once the table was set, she called out to him only to be met with Guilmon instead. He sniffed the food and asked, "It looks yummy! Can I have some?"

"Of course. I cooked it for us," she said, barely finishing her sentence before he started to dig straight into the food. Kari felt her appetite go away in disgust with how quickly and disgustingly the dinosaur made the food go away, "I said us, Guilmon. Us!"

As she looked away from his eating spree, she noted Tamer still hasn't joined them, "Where's your partner?"

"Takatomon was in your bedroom drawing on your window," Guilmon said with a mouth full of food. Kari sighed and pushed her plate his way, "Go ahead and have mine. I'm going to talk to him."

She made her way into the bedroom, watching him draw on her window with a red marker and massaged her temple. Not once in her life did she think she would talking to him like a disappointed parent. Then again, she was sure he'd had enough of that in the last few days, "You better plan on washing that off."

"I will when all this is over," he promised, not even looking up from his work. That was hardly reassuring to her, especially since the drawing consisted of what looked like a crude map of the city along with some numbers. It was curious, "What are you doing?"

"Measuring the rate of growth and expansion. It's slow but it's expanding at an increasing rate. It could swallow the city in a matter of days," he crossed his arms, "Which makes the whole thing more complicated. The country in the week. The whole world in a month. Time is a factor and we don't have a lot of it."

"Okay, but why the window and not a piece of paper?" she asked. He gave her a quizzical look and called her over to have a look at the window from his perspective. The map may have been crude from where she was standing, but it drawn so all the streets and landmarks lined up with where they could be seen from her window, "My math might be off but it should be accurate enough to get a rough estimate."

She smiled at him, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were playing dumb with your math homework this entire time."

He smiled back at her and went back to continuing doing math on the window, "I made you some eggs and bacon but I imagine that Guilmon has eaten it all by now."

Tamer shrugged it off. It seemed he was focused solely on his business at this point whatever his business was. And she didn't like bring left out of the loop. Not anymore, "Tell ME you've got a plan to save Juri. To save both worlds."

"I probably did. I just can't remember it. My memories are still off but being in the Digital World helped clear my head of the static. It comes in flashes. And not all of its good," he paused, stopping his drawings long enough to look back at her with the the biggest puppy dog eyes she'd ever seen, "For whatever it's worth, I'm sorry. For everything. From when you were a little kid to now. I really am sorry. I was a jerk back then. And I don't want to be a jerk now. I want to be better. I'm sorry."

Words she never thought she'd hear him say so genuinely. But that wasn't important now, "That's in the past. Right now, all I'm worried about is saving Juri and the world. What is the plan?"

"Right now? Wing it and hope for the best. That thing is called the D-Reaeper. And a long time ago, the guardians couldn't kill it. We threw everything at it. It evolved and learned so quickly that it was impossible to try the same strategy twice without it adapting. So we did the next best thing. We sealed it away with another equally powerful monster," he answered, "I'd say we try that again, but I don't know where we're going to get that many strong digimon to trick it and an equally strong monster - not digimon, monster - to fight it for another...I don't know. Another eternity."

He started pacing frantically, "Okay, plan. Plan. I remember I'm supposed to be good at this stuff - being unpredictable. Winging it so that stuff just kinda works out. So why can't I think of anything? Gah! Okay, think. Think."

BOOM!

The apartment shook and Tamer latched on to her to keep from falling over. There was a loud crash somewhere in the distance that must've been Guilmon falling over in the kitchen. Once the apartment settled, Kari looked down at Tamer, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, you?" he asked. She nodded, turning her attention out the window, "What the hell was that?"

Her answer came in the form of smoke rising in the distance out her window. It was accompanied by the sight of a strange flock of birds and digimon: Taomon, Rapidmon, and a strange dragon digimon she didn't recognize. She looked back down at Tamer, "It looks like the rest of your new friends are out there fighting for their lives."

Tamer's expression sank, "What? Oh no. Okay, that changes things. I could help but…no, they definitely don't want to talk to me right now. So change of plan…back up! They need back up! We need to help them! Guilmon! We need to go!"

He collected himself and hurried for the door with Guilmon in tow. But then he paused, stopping just as his hand turned the handle. He didn't open the door. He didn't run out to help the others. He just stood there, staring at the door. Then he let it go, stepping back from the door quietly, "Maybe I shouldn't."

"What?" Kari blurted, "Tamer, what happened to all that enthusiasm you had a second ago?"

"I'm just realizing something. Any time I help, things just go from bad to worse," Tamer threw his hands up in frustration, "I could help. I could! But _my help_ tends to cause more problems than it solves! And let's be fair! With my helping streak, I'll probably get them killed!"

"So what. Your plan is to sit here and do nothing?" Kari asked, unsure of what exactly he was thinking. Tamer shook his head, massaging his temple as he began pacing in her door way, "Sure! Why not? It's not like I'll help them any more than I helped Juri. Who knows, maybe they'll get kidnapped too! Maybe Ryo will get to spend another twenty years in the Digital World. That's how destiny seems to be working itself out anyway. I'm supposed to be the Guardian of that and I can't even remember what I'm supposed to do!"

Kari looked at Tamer pitifully, recalling all her previous adventures in the Digital World and noting how this must've been what it looked like from the other side. He seemed genuinely lost and had no idea what to do. All resemblance to the one who always had a plan melted away, all that remained was the misbehaving student from her class with a frustratingly short attention span. As a teacher, she'd always tried using a mix of discipline and learning moments in the hopes of getting through to him. But what exactly could she say now? What should she say?

What would he need to hear? Probably Agumon at this point. She looked over at Guilmon, recalling everything he'd told her. Agumon would be of no help, not in this state. But if he were still around with all his memories intact, what would he say? Of course.

"Don't worry about it," Kari said. Tamer looked up at her with a raised eyebrow, "Excuse me?"

Kari mused "It was something Agumon said to us back when you were being 'Taichi' that one time, as annoying as it got. Don't worry about it. Do what comes natural and destiny will usually work itself out. That's what he told us when we went looking for you. And it's definitely what you need to hear. Just do what comes natural. So...what do you want to do?"

He looked up at her quietly with big sad eyes. It was easy to forget that he was over a hundred thousand years old when he had those big, sad, childish eyes looking up at her. She put a hand on his shoulder to calm him, "Tamer, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know. What should I do?" he asked her quietly. He didn't know. He was on their level. The apartment shook again as another distant explosion rocked the building. She looked back out her apartment window at the chaos outside. If only she had her partner, "I know what I'd do if Gatomon were here. I'd run out there and try to save the city."

His eyes widened and a small smile cracked on his face, "When did you get so good at this?"

She smiled back at him, "Someone had to step up when you weren't around. We all did, honestly. You weren't around to save the world."

He nodded silently, still smiling in simple agreement, "You guys really did. And you did a great job of it too. I...I'm sorry for how I was before."

"You already apologized Tamer. Otherwise, I'm glad we're having a moment, but the city is in danger! So stop talking and get out there!" Kari said just short of shouting at him. He nodded in agreement and threw the door open, "Yeah, come on buddy! Let's go get some help."

"Thank you for breakfast! It was super yummy!" The red dinosaur cheered as he followed his partner back out the door. Kari sighed - those two were the best shot they had right now. She just hoped they were able to do something. That Tamer would come up with a plan before it was too late and all of this would be over soon.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** The Tamer has gone out to help! The others are out fighting the machinations of the D-Reaper. Juri remains trapped inside the creature! Will Tamer get there in time? Can the others hold out until he gets there? And will Juri be okay? Find out all this next Friday, February 7th at 8 PM CST. Let me know what you guys think in the reviews section! And hey, if you loved it, don't forget to favorite the story to show support and to follow to keep up with all the latest updates. That's all for now. Let's look at previews for the next chapter!

" _Agents have been deployed throughout the area for observation. Juri. Your cooperation is demanded. Please, assist with the identification of objects in images,_ " she heard herself say. The voice in her head. The one that was using her body as it saw fit. Before she could reply, her brain was racked with images. Hundreds of images all at once - all of different places, people, and things around Tokyo. It was too fast. She could barely make sense of it and she wanted to scream in agony as the images continued to fly by.

" _Juri. Your cooperation is demanded_ ," the voice said again.


	38. Processing Data

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 38: Processing Data**

Juri sat inside the train car - or rather watched herself inside the train car. It was the strangest perception as she had no present control over her own body, but she was still able to see with her own eyes. Smell the rusted metal of the train car with her nose. Hear the sounds coming from outside. It was a horrifying sensation to not be in control, helplessly watching as whatever was controlling her used her body to do who knew what. How could this happen? Why was it happening to her? What did she do to deserve...no, she knew what she did to deserve this. It was destiny, after all. Like her partner Leomon. Like the real Takato. Like her mother. This was punishment, wasn't it?

" _Agents have been deployed throughout the area for observation. Juri. Your cooperation is demanded. Please, assist with the identification of the objects so that they can be further understood,_ " she heard herself say. The voice in her head. The one that was using her body as it saw fit. Before she could reply, her brain was racked with images. Hundreds of images all at once - all of different places, people, and things around Tokyo. It was too fast. She could barely make sense of it and she wanted to scream in agony as the images continued to fly by. It was like someone was hitting her in the head with a hammer repeatedly. Each image was another painful blow that made her feel like she was going to pass out.

" _Juri. Your cooperation is demanded_ ," the voice said again, its voice carrying heavy disapproval. That was just what she needed - to hear herself be disappointed in her. But that thought barely lasted with the pain of each image flying through her head.

"It's too much. It hurts! Please make it stop!" she thought to herself.

" _Pain noted. Adjusting flow of information to accommodate human limitation_ ," the voice answered. The images still flashed through her mind. So fast and so quick that she could feel her head about to split open from the pain. She screamed. Or tried to anyway.

" _Life form identified as Juri. Material is being processed at a rate of one hundred images per millisecond. You will begin identification,_ " the voice commanded. Her head hurt from the unbearable pain she was enduring. The images started flashing again, too fast for her to even get a good look at any of them. She just wanted it to stop. Why wouldn't it stop the pain?

"It's too fast," she whimpered again, "It hurts. It's too much. Please stop! Please!"

The voice was unamused and growled, " _The frailty of your mind is noted, along with its limited processing abilities. Image processing is currently running at one percent efficiency. Reducing to zero point zero zero zero one percent efficiency. Begin identification. Now._ "

The images came again, this time slowly and deliberately. She wanted this pace to remain so she began naming things out of fear of earning its ire, "A motorcycle. A car. An oak tree. The Japanese flag. A police officer. Some office worker."

Was this her life now? Was this what it was like for Tamerkato? No, Tamerkato was at least able to fight off the angry motorcycle. He was able to retain some modicum of control. And she wasn't anything like him - not if even one of those stories were true. No, of course they were true. She had seen for herself how dangerous he could be first hand. She was nothing like that. So she resigned herself to her fate of identifying every image that came through her mind. At least it wasn't painful.

" _Juri, why do you continue to focus on this concept of fate and destiny?_ " the voice asked again. Juri was unsure how to answer the question. The voice pressed, " _Since you relinquished control of your body, your mind has spent approximately eighty percent of its non-vital functions ruminating on the concept of fate and destiny. Is there a reason to this?_ "

She supposed she did. But then what did it matter to the voice? Why would it care what she was? After she was silent, the voice pressed, " _Are you by chance a fatalist?_ "

"Fatalist?" Juri repeated stupidly. The voice was losing its patience as it asked, " _Fatalists ascribe to the doctrine of determinism - the notion that all events and actions are linked together by the causal chain of destiny or fate. Is this the reason for your obsession?_ "

"I...no," Juri would've shook her head if she were able to.

" _And yet your mind continues to focus heavily on destiny and fate. Why is that?_ "

She fumbled out an answer as she spoke, "I…I'm just not sure if this was always going to happen. Ever since…I just don't know how much control I really have over anything I do. Not since…"

She paused again, trying to gather her thoughts amid the headaches and confusion. The voice spoke again and this time began by addressing, " _Your thoughts have shifted to another. An older female. Perhaps an older version of yourself? No. That's incorrect, the probability is unlikely to be the root cause. A paternal figure? Yes, a paternal figure. Your mother…she passed away when you were young."_

Juri didn't want to think about this. She didn't want to dwell on this subject. She didn't want to be reminded of her deceased mother or the possibility that her death was unavoidable. The world around her went dark - descending into a cold abyss until she found herself in a dim, white room that smelled of antiseptic. The room seemed so large…no, she was small. She looked down at her hands and found that they were moving under her control. She was in control again. How? How was this possible? And why was she so small?

"What is this?" she murmured, looking around the room. The curtains were drawn to block out the light, but she could still make out the vague outline of someone there. Her father? Yes, her father - standing somberly over a bed. A hospital bed. Juri's blood froze, her heart stopping in her chest, and the fear came back, "What's happening? How am I here?"

" _This is a memory,_ " the voice replied, " _We are examining your memories carefully to determine the source of your fatalist attitude._ "

"No!" Juri shrieked out loud. She didn't want to relive this. Not this. Not this day. She didn't want to relive this horrible moment. Anything but this.

"Mommy's not coming home, sweetheart," her father said quietly, without looking away from the person lying on the bed. It was then that Juri noticed the arm hanging limply from under the sheets. She'd forgotten about it - how cold and lifeless it seemed to be. She'd been too busy dreading the other parts of this memory - and it only served to make it worse. She wanted to plead with him, to stop this memory from continuing, "Dad, please don't."

"I'm sorry, Juri," her dad said, putting a hand on her head. In any other situation, it would've been comforting. But here. It just made her feel patronized - her father wasn't thinking about her in his grief. His apology was hollow - he was just talking to keep himself from collapsing into tears and breaking down further. Her father added, "Maybe that's just how things were meant to be. Maybe that was her destiny. She just wasn't strong enough."

"Destiny?" she repeated from memory. Her father answered, "Destiny is something no one can run from. It catches up to us in the end. And it's the destiny of all things to die. It was just her time. Her destiny to die."

" _There is truth to your father's words_ ," the voice spoke, " _Death is a fact of life._ "

Juri shivered, "I don't want to remember this."

" _Your mother died. What part of that bothers you?_ " the voice demanded, " _It would seem your fixation on destiny could be due to the realization of your own mortality - a subject matter that often afflicts life forms with feelings of intense distress. It would appear that the reason for this fixation is that you never properly learned to deal with this distress and therefore fixated on destiny or fate as a rationalization. However your rationalization only served to hinder you from achieving your true potential._ "

Juri tried to tune this all out. She didn't want to hear this anymore. She didn't want to be a part of this. Her father turned to face her. She remembered the stoic look on his face trying to hold back tears and emotion. He didn't have that this time. He didn't have anything. It was just a horrifically blank face. Then the skin began to tear itself apart where its mouth would've been - and inside was an endless sea of horribly misshapen eyes that spoke to her in her own voice, " _It is fact, Juri. All things will die. You were born to die. That is your ultimate fate. There is no reason to fear it. You may even find liberation in accepting that!"_

She could think of several reasons right now why she should be very afraid of what was in front of her. The inhuman movements of the mouthlike hole wasn't helping anything, " _Rejoice in your mortality. There is no reason to cling to life. Instead, use your life in service to a greater good. Serve your purpose, Juri. Death is your destiny, regardless. But you are not there yet. There is still time to do some good with your life._ "

This thing was not good at making compelling arguments. In fact, she couldn't focus on anything it was saying because of how terrified she was. All she wanted was for all of this to stop.

" _Let us resume_ ," its voice echoed.

* * *

Cyberdramon, Rapidmon, and Taomon attacked the bird creatures with everything they had but none of it mattered. The damn things moved too quickly to hit and the ones they could hit barely seemed affected by their attacks. Even with the relevant upgrades to their speed and strength, all they were really managing to do was just barely keep up with them. And worst of all was the fact that they were endless.

The soldiers below still held their ground, firing skyward into the flocks although it was anyone's guess if they were actually hitting anything. Military vehicles came in to reinforce their line: tanks fired their cannons into the sky while gunners emptied their machine guns. However, the attacks were accomplishing nothing against the endless flock of bird creatures soaring out of the mess. The few hits that made their mark weren't doing any good.

"What are these dumb things even doing? They're not attacking!" Rapidmon pointed out angrily, frustrated that their efforts were pointless and beginning to think their passivity was mocking in nature. Taomon gestured at a few of them that were sitting idly and explained, "They're scouts. Spies gathering information for that...thing. Once it has what it needs, it'll attack us with everything it has."

"Oh great. Because these guys being tough to hurt wasn't bad enough," Rapidmon groaned, still firing his barrage endlessly. Cyberdramon latched onto one of the birds and dragged it across the side of the building - managing to at least scratch the surface layer of its body but otherwise barely hurting it, "Less lip! More hit!"

Once he ran out of building, he threw the bird with all his might straight into another bird, only to watch them bounce off each other and continue on like nothing happened. Cyberdramon growled, "Why isn't this working? Why won't they break? WHY WON'T THEY DIE!? KILL! KILL! KILL!"

* * *

"Hey Ryo! You're not stewing in your anger again, are you?" Henry called out to him. Ryo's fists tightened as he grumbled, "Sorry, it's just...I know that Tamer is involved in this somehow! I just know he's responsible. Either he knew and he let it happen, or he caused it."

"We don't know that for sure!" Henry reasoned with him, "And even if he is responsible, getting angry won't do us any good unless you plan on letting Cyberdramon run around on a rampage throughout the city!"

Rika punched him in the shoulder, "He's right! So calm down, Ryo!"

"Right, right," he nodded sheepishly, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down but knowing that he wasn't going to be able to let go of the fact that this was all Tamer's fault. He needed to calm down. Calm down. Just breathe.

BOOM!

While he'd been trying to calm himself, a tank rolled up beside them and fired its cannon up at the flock of birds. It missed of course, the shell soaring through the air and hitting the red mass where it exploded loudly. It was hard to calm down when guns were firing away all around them. Soldiers ran past them with guns, firing away at the flock of birds and one of them shouted, "Hey! You kids get out of here! Itami! Get these kids out of here!"

A young man ran up to them and tried ushering them back, "You heard him kids. Scram! Come on!"

"Are you kidding? We just had this discussion!" Rika groaned in disbelief, "Why can't you guys just let us do our thing? Hell, we're doing a better job than you guys are! Those are our partners up there fighting that damn thing and you want us to leave?"

The soldier looked down at her with wide eyed surprise, shaking his head as he scooped her up and threw her over his shoulder, "I'm sure. Now let's go!"

He grabbed a hold of Henry before he had time to protest and he tried to carry them away from the fighting. Thinking quickly, Ryo kicked the soldier in the shin so that he dropped both of them, "Run!"

The soldier cursed as he massaged his leg, barking for help from the other soldiers in his unit. Realizing the trouble they were in, Rika and Henry raced after Ryo down the street with some soldiers running after them. Henry had a small chance to look up at their partners and shout, "Guys! There's too many soldiers here! We have to go!"

"I am a warrior! I do not retreat!" Cyberdramon howled back at the top of his lungs, "They run from me! I will make them fear me!"

"Hostile! Incoming! Ten o'clock high!" one of the soldiers shouted, raising his rifle to target the digimon. Ryo shouted out at him, "Cyberdramon! We need to go! Now!"

"I can do this!" Cyberdramon roared back. The first few shots were fired and hit the Ultimate in the back. He roared in anger and turned on the soldiers. Ryo pleases with him again, "Don't attack! Cyberdramon! We need to go! Don't make it worse and attack humans!"

"Attack them!? They're attacking me!" the ultimate level dragon protested in anger at being ignored. There was no time. He wasn't going to listen. Taomon wasted no time and slammed her brush against the dragon's head - not quite knocking him out but giving him some context for their situation. He growled in agreement, "Fine! We'll go!"

The soldiers continued to fire upon the digimon until Taomon descended and used her brush to draw a magical field around - creating a bubble that lifted them up into the air and away from the fighting. They fled from the fighting, retreating across the city and away from soldiers charging into battle as citizens ran in terror. And ever direction they looked was filled with those bird things flying in every conceivable direction to block every route of escape. Eventually, Rika pointed out a clear alley, "There!"

"Going!" Taomon agreed, setting them in the alley. The moment they were free, Ryo groaned and kicked over a garbage can, "This is a mess. How can we stop this thing if every new soldier that shows up starts shooting at us?"

"Well what else are we supposed to do? We'll just have to keep explaining that we're there to help and hope we don't keep getting dragged away," Henry reasoned. Rapidmon sighed, "Yeah, easy for you to say when you're not the one getting shot at."

"Excuse me…are you kids…uh, what was it again?"

They looked off to the side to see a young woman with short brown hair wearing a black suit. She was young, possibly in her mid twenties, and didn't look at all like any of the government agents they'd become used to seeing in the last few days. However, she did have a gun holstered on her belt and they could see a red armband with a leaf symbol around her left shoulder. She reach into her coat pocket to retrieve a notepad and read aloud from it, "Found it. Are you guys Jiangliang…Lee…Ruki…Izumi? Wait, I mean Makino! No, it's Nonaka!? Man, my handwriting really does suck. Forget that. And…Ryo Akiyama. Well, at least one of you has a normal name. Anyway, are you them?"

They looked between each other and this strange woman dressed in a her formal black suit. She dressed like the government agents but she didn't carry herself like one. Hell, she was probably barely older than their teacher. Henry raised an eyebrow, "That depends. Who are you?"

"Let's see: cautious, orange vest, skeptical…that would make you Jiangliang," the woman rattled off. Rapidmon leaned into his partner, "Wow, she's got your number."

"Yeah, and I bet the giant green robot rabbit didn't have anything to do with it," Henry fired back. The woman flicked closed her notebook, "Nah, it was completely the digimon. Which make you Ryo and you Ruki. Anyway, I need you all to come with me."

"Go with you? You haven't even told us who you are!" Ryo practically shouted at her. The woman snickered, "You're right, I didn't. My name's not important. What is important is who I represent: Burnt Leaf. We've been keeping an eye on you kids for a while. Well, most of you. You've been missing for a while Mister Akiyama and we had a hell of a time tracking you down. Imagine our surprise when you showed up out of the blue one day. Or should I say flash of light?"

"Is it amazing how little that explains?" Taomon pointed out. The woman laughed, "You can address me as M if it means so much to you."

"You're from that organization," Rika gasped, pointing at her arm band, "Burnt Leaf."

"Yeah, I just said that," M answered.

"You know who she is, Rika?" Ryo asked her. Rika nodded and went on, "They got mentioned once in that book. The unpopular one. Last time it was a guy named Hokage. So who are you?"

"He's my boss. He's kinda tied up with this mess so I'm here instead," M explained, "We've been slowing down Hypnos' attempts to track you kids and hindering them wherever we could. But we're kind of in a tough spot at the moment. So I'm here to escort you back to the Hypnos Program."

"Wait, if you've been hindering them - why are you taking us to them?" Taomon asked. M motioned for them to follow and said, "I'll tell you on the way. And can you guys shrink down for crying out loud? You three stand out like sore thumbs."

Cyberdramon looked ready to pounce but was held back by Taomon, though this didn't stop Rapidmon from trying to throw a piece of garbage at the woman. Sadly, he missed by a mile and the woman kept on walking.

Ryo looked at Rika for some kind of explanation, unsure if they could trust the new woman. It didn't help that she looked just as weary of the new woman as he did. He scratched his head, "Well, Rika. You're the expert on that book. Do we trust her?"

"Tamer did," Rika folded her arms, "In the book, he trusted them…well…he was going to trust them. The book got trippy in that part - something about the future and the past and multiple meetings. It was weird."

"Okay, but can we trust them?" Ryo repeated, trying to wrap his head around the explanation. Rika paused for a moment, putting her hand to her chin and becoming contemplative, "What choice do we have?"

Ryo didn't like that answer, "We have plenty of choices!"

Taomon patted Rika on the head, "I say we follow her. If The Digimon Tamer trusted them, then that's enough for me."

"You know we don't share your optimism, right?" Rapidmon pointed out. Taomon stifled a laugh, "I suppose not. All the same, I'm going."

"Wherever Taomon goes, I go," Rika agreed. M called back, "If you're coming, please shrink your partners down! They can't fit in the SUV like this."

* * *

Impmon ran all night, like he'd never fled before. He'd seen enough horrible things in the Digital World to know he didn't want to be anywhere near that thing. Not after what he'd seen in the memory - a lifetime of knowing nothing he did would matter because he was simply a plaything for the universe at large. He knew it was the other guy's memory, not his, but it blurred so seamlessly with his own memories that he wasn't entirely sure of that fact.

Was he even Impmon? Yes, of course he was. There was no doubt about that.

But again the memories came back to haunt him and he couldn't drown them out. Not after he'd fought the last monster in a fit of rage and lost terribly. What frustrated him the most was knowing that all of his acquired strength and skill amounted to nothing. That big lummox wiped the floor with him and then the others had to step in to save him!

Why? Why wasn't it enough? Was he just doomed to be a failure like this? He hated it. And he hated himself just as much. No he wasn't a failure. He knew that much.

It was Ai and Mako's fault. Who else would it be? If _they_ had just been _better_ partners. If _they_ would _quit_ bickering for five minutes. None of this would've happened. Maybe things would have been different. They could have been different. Maybe dwelling on their memory was what brought him to their home - some kind of subconscious act .

Unfortunately he didn't realize where he was going until he was already there - at the tree just over their backyard where he could look down at them. They were busy playing without a care in the world. Did they even know what was going on in the city right now? Probably not. They were just kids after all - they couldn't even understand the concept of sharing.

They were playing with a stuffed teddy bear and going about their day like two loving siblings. That was odd. They weren't fighting over the teddy bear. In fact, they were playing some kind of pretend space adventure game with the teddy bear playing the part of an evil space pirate. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't imagining things. Nope. It was real. They were sharing their toy.

He should've been proud. He wanted to feel pride. But the only emotion welling up inside of him was anger. Jealousy. Rage that he hadn't been treated with the same kindness. Now they were sharing? Now they were getting along!? What!? Was he not good enough? Did he not deserve that kindness!?

"Ai! Mako!" their mother called, "Come inside! It's snack time!"

Yeah, they definitely didn't know. Their mother was busy making them snacks. That definitely meant they had no idea what kind of danger they were in. They cheered and rushed back inside, giving him the opportunity to leap down over to where they'd left their teddy lying on the grass. Impmon examined it bitterly, annoyed that it had been treated with such respect and care. He wished he could've had that, and the anger welled up inside until he found himself kicking the doll repeatedly in a fit of anger. Then he stopped, realizing how to stupid he was being. He almost had to laugh.

Was this what he was reduced to? Taking out his frustration on stuffed animals? It made him want to kick the doll again in anger. But that would just prove the point wouldn't it? Still, he kicked the doll anyway. He wanted to have some control over his life. To feel like he wasn't some play thing for the world to use as it pleased - jokes it seemed.

"Impmon?" Mako's little voice called out. He looked up from the doll and saw the little boy standing at the sliding glass door with a half eaten banana in hand. His eyes widened with excitement, "Ai! Impmon's back!"

Impmon wanted to run, but his legs refused to move - either from fear or from shock, he knew he was unable to leave. Then Ai, Mako's slightly older sister poked her head out from behind the glass door - crumbs and chocolate smeared all over her face. Her face lit up with a smile and she cheered, "Impmon! It's you! You're back! Just in time because we're having snacks!"

She ran back inside and returned holding a bowl of assorted fruit slices, crackers, and chocolate cookies. Impmon looked at the bowl quietly, then back up at the two kids who seemed excited by the prospect that he had finally returned. He didn't know what to say to them. He expected anger, anguish, sadness…something - hell, he'd even settle to listening to them argue for a few minutes over who would get to play with him first. But they didn't.

They must've noticed his unease because both of their faces turned grim. Ai sheepishly asked, "Are you still mad at us?"

He blinked, surprised that they'd even considered that. Mako nodded in agreement, "That's why you ran away the first time, right? You were mad at us for always fighting and never getting along. That's why you ran away."

There was a lot to unpack there - the biggest thing was the fact that they'd realized it perfectly without him needing to spell it out for them. Ai set the bowl down on the ground in front of him, "We're sorry Impmon. Please don't be mad anymore."

He wasn't sure how to respond to any of this. Mostly because this show of humility was completely foreign to him. Still, watching them apologize and practically ready to cry made him realize how guilty he felt. He didn't want to be responsible for hurting anyone else - not even their feelings - so he quietly took one of the sliced apples and started munching. After he swallowed the first bite, he apologized, "I'm...sorry I left."

"No, we're sorry. It's our fault," Ai answered, hanging her head quietly, "We didn't mean to make you run away. We just wanted to play with you. And we scared you away. We're sorry."

"We promise we won't fight anymore so please don't leave again!" Mako added pleadingly. Impmon continued to quietly eat the apple. He didn't want to promise that. What if he had to leave? What if they started fighting again? He couldn't bring himself to be responsible for hurting anyone else. But he also didn't want to leave - not when he knew what was out there. And if he left...what would happen to Mako and Ai? These two kids all the way on the edge of the city, far away from everything that was going on. The world was ending just a few miles away and they probably had no idea. Hell, their parents had probably avoided telling them just to keep them from panicking.

The thought of their scared, crying faces compelled him to answer, "Okay."

He didn't want to agree to stay, but right now he didn't care. All he wanted was to forget about the past, forget about all his problems…to start over. He picked up the bowl of snacks and offered it back to the two kids.

* * *

Takeru and the rest of the digimon made their way up the hill, listening to the loud noise on the other side. It was like a roar of thunder, accompanied by strong winds and dark clouds swirling overhead. They weren't sure what the commotion was - all they knew was that whole sections of the Digital World were abandoned - as if everyone had left. And then the noise came in the distance, like a low distant rumble accompanied by flashes of light in the distance.

As the reached the top of the hill, they found themselves looking over what could only be called a massive battlefield occupied by countless digimon. It was crazy enough when they saw the mega level MetalSeadramon and WarGreymon in the mix, but then they saw hundreds of them. Countless MetalSeadramon and WarGreymon among a sea of mega level digimon fighting some amorphous red blob that covered the Digital World.

And the red blob was winning. It didn't matter how many digimon threw their strongest attacks at it - the red mass would either eat the attack or retaliate with a blast of red fire. It was like trying to fight a rising tide of a blazing fire - everything they could do either did nothing or made it stronger.

Takeru's heart sank at the sight of it. No, that wasn't right. It froze - stopped in terror. This…this was not something he'd ever thought to be prepared for. This was something years of experience could not prepare him for. All the other enemies they had faced in the past could at least be understood - Apocalymon, Myotismon, Devimon. This…this was like a force of nature.

He wanted to help. He needed to help. But this…this was beyond him. He'd never seen so much death, despair, and carnage in one place. He froze as he realized he didn't know what to do. The other digimon seemed just as lost and scared by the sight before them. After all, there were countless mega level digimon fighting and they were doing nothing against it. What good would a few more do? How could they save the Digital World when the only thing they had to offer was just a drop of water in a bucket that was failing.

He would have to be like The Digimon Tamer. He would need to be unpredictable. But how could he outwit or outthink something that was so alien, he wasn't even sure it was alive? As he tried to process what he was looking at, a flash of light beside him alerted him to the arrival of a more than welcome sight, "TK!"

"Tamer!" he called out, still trying to make sense of what was going on, "What the hell is going on?"

Tamer took one look around them and answered grimly, "You just answered your own question there, Takeru."

"Tamer! What is all this?" Gatomon demanded angrily. Tamer sighed and gestured around them, "Death. And hell is following it. That's not hyperbole either - that thing is death! Literally! It exists to destroy Digital Life!"

"So are you just going to talk all pretentious or are you going to do anything helpful?" Gomamon asked, "Seriously...your talk is more obnoxious that Izzy!"

"Take that back!" Tentomon smacked him across the back of the head. Gomamon groaned in pain until Palmon lifted them both up into the air, "Focus guys! Tamer's here! That means trouble! Pay attention! I want to see Mimi!"

"First he's got to drop the metaphors!" Gatomon complained.

"That wasn't a metaphor," Tamer pointed at the red mass the countless digimon were fighting, "That thing...the Ancients had a couple of names for it. Death was one of them. Found out it's name is the D-Reaper…kinda anti-climactic really. Sorry, lost focus. Back to the subject! This thing. It's in the Real World now."

"How? You need a digivice to travel between worlds!" Takeru asked in disbelief, holding up his digivice to emphasize his point. Tamer waved a finger, "There's more than one wat to cross the boundary. And I think this one might be my fault."

"Because of course it is," Gatomon threw up her hands in disgust. Tamer's shoulders slumped, and he ran a hand through his head sheepishly, "Yeah. Anyway, the human World is in trouble. More trouble than the Digital World. The Digital World has all powerful digimon. The human world doesn't...I...look, they need your help."

"Deal!" Veemon spurted our quickly, until he was pulled back by both Gatomon and Palmon, "Are you crazy?"

"I'm in too!" Wormmon nodded. Now he was the one getting looks as Gomamon turned his head, "Really?"

"Yeah, I figured you guys would put up more of a fight that," Tamer admitted sheepishly. Veemon wriggled free enough to add, "We all know what you're going to shay. You need ush to go back to the human world and help shave it. I'm in. I want to shee Davish again!"

"I...Huh...anyone object?" Tamer stumbled, obviously taken aback by the sudden change of heart of the digimon. Takeru watched the remaining digimon confer quietly amongst themselves until Gomamon asked, "And this isn't a trick?"

"No...why would it be?" Tamer shook his head, offended by the accusation.

"You do have a habit of using us," Gomamon said accusingly. He had a point there and Tamer didn't seem to know how to answer that one, "You have a point. I'm not going to force any of you to do something you don't want to-"

Takeru cut him off, "No, I think it's time we headed back. If the others are in trouble then it's time I was there with them. That _we_ were there with them. Before it's too late."

"By the way, what's going on with the other guys? Those kids you were with?" Armadillomon asked. Tamer raised up his digivice, "Yeah…we're not exactly talking right now. Which is kinda the reason I'm getting you guys."

"Oh, did they finally smarten up?" Gatomon hissed. Tamer's shoulders slumped, "Truth is…everything I touch has a habit of going from bad to worse. But they need help. I don't want to get involved because what if it ends up hurting them? But you guys? Not only could you help them, they'd probably love the chance to fight alongside you!"

"We're more interested in seeing our partners," Armadillomon pointed out, earning a cavalcade of nods from the other digimon. Wormmon added, "Besides, it sounds like you just want to use us."

"That's not it!" Tamer insisted, pausing again to take a breath, "Look, how about this? I'll just bring you guys to your partners in the Real World. If you guys don't want to fight, you're free to choose not to. You can just be with your partners. Deal?"

The digimon looked between themselves and nodded in agreement, "Alright!"

"Okay," Tamer held out his digivice, "Next stop! The Human World! Digiport Open!"

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** The digimon partners are on their way back to the digidestined! Will they finally agree to help their partners or will it all be for naught? Where is M taking Rika, Henry, and Ryo? And what will happen between Impmon and the two siblings? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out next Friday February 14th at 8 PM CST. Let me know what you guys think in the reviews section! And hey, don't forget to follow the story to keep up with all the latest updates and favorite the story to show support! That's all for now! Let's look at previews for the next chapter!

" _Why are we here?" Rika asked, gazing out the towers that had been the center of the Hypnos Program. The woman unlocked the doors and they flew open of their own accord, "Burnt Leaf policy is to make sure everyone gets to where they need to be when they need to be there."_

" _And that answers my question how?" Rika asked. The woman smiled her biggest possible smile before pushing her out onto the street, "Don't think too much about it. Just do whatever comes natural."_


	39. In the Closet

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 39: In The Closet**

The Burnt Leaf SUV pulled up in front of the Tokyo Metropolitan Building and M announced, "This is your stop guys."

Despite the chaos of their present situation, the trip was relatively quick and calm. It was almost boring despite the chaos going on. The streets which were crowded with traffic - stopped cars trying to get out of the city and crowds of people fleeing on foot - seemed to become instantaneously clear as they made their way through the city. Pile the fighting and the birds swarming over head, and it was a miracle that they got here as quickly as they did.

There was a small police presence at the entrance but it was obvious they were too out of their depth to actually be of any use. Most of them just ended up gawking helplessly at the bird things as they soared by overhead. The few of them who were of any use spent their time just trying to keep crowds of people inside the building.

"Why are we here?" Rika asked, gazing out the towers that had been the center of the Hypnos Program. The woman unlocked the doors and they flew open of their own accord, "Burnt Leaf policy is to make sure everyone gets to where they need to be when they need to be there. What happens next is up to you guys."

"And that answers my question how?" Rika asked. The woman smiled her biggest possible smile before pushing her out onto the street, "Don't think too much about it. Just do whatever comes natural."

"I'm getting sick of people giving us these non-answers," Rika protested as she stumbled out onto the street. Ryo hurried out to catch her but she'd already steadied herself by then. Still, that didn't stop him from asking, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Rika said, giving the tire of the SUV a swift kick. Monodramon joined in her kicking too, making her action seem all the more childish and useless. M seemed to laugh mockingly at her and winked, "You kids have fun doing what you do best. And remember, we're watching you! Good luck!"

With another click, the doors slammed shut and the SUV took off down the street. Henry scratched his head, "So what do we do now?"

"She said she was trying to get us where we needed to be when we needed to be there. I'm not going to lie, that sounds like something only Tamer would say," Ryo answered grumpily. Rika could see his fists trembling and took hold of them to calm him down, "Hey, calm down. The last thing we need right now is an out of control Cyberdramon."

That seemed to work, until she realized he was now red from embarrassment instead of anger. It took her a second too long to understand why and she slapped him to hide her own embarrassment, "Idiot."

"Or maybe that's exactly what we need," Henry suggested with a hand to his chin, looking down at Monodramon who'd crossed his arms and started muttering what must've been several devious curses at him. He only stopped when Ryo flicked his finger across his head, "No, we're not doing that. Best case scenario is he gets swallowed absorbed by whatever that...thing is."

"That's the best case?" Henry repeated, feeling his mouth falling wide open in horror at how casually Ryo seemed to be handling the idea of losing his partner. Even Monodramon was staring bitterly at his partner. Ryo continued, "The alternative, which is the worse case scenario, is Cyberdramon goes completely out of control - then he and that thing destroy each other and possibly the whole world with it."

"You seriously think he can do that?" Terriermon asked curiously, eyeing Monodramon who still seemed unsure of what he said. Ryo sighed, "You have no idea what he's capable of. What he was capable of before I was his partner. There's no telling when or if that power will come back. And if it does...worse case scenario."

"Right, so anyone have any other plans?" Rika asked grumpily.

"What are you all doing here?"

All three children and their digimon looked up to see Doctor Kido coming towards them dressed more casually than he had seen before. He was holding an open phone in one hand that he was holding away from his ear, "On my way up. Meet me at the entrance."

His expression was dour, and he spoke more animatedly than he had before, "You kids shouldn't be out here."

"Are you kidding? We're exactly the ones who need to be out here!" Terriermon declared. Before he could add to that statement, Doctor Kido started ushering them back inside, "No, I mean this isn't the place to be standing around talking! Get inside before any of those military guys freak out and start shooting. You can practically hear how trigger happy they are from here!"

"What are you even doing here?" Rika asked as he pushed them in through the door, to an entryway busy with staffers hurriedly answering phones and trying to calm a crowd of people who'd rushed inside when all the chaos happened. Several security guards and police officers were trying to maintain some semblance of calm and order, or as much as possible when there were several heavily armed men in the room. And the air turned to terror once they saw the digimon enter the building.

Screams broke out and the crowd rushed away from the door...from the digimon. Two of the guards aimed their guns at them, "Leave!"

"Get down on the ground!"

"We can't do both," Renamon reasoned, "What do you want of us?"

"Down on the ground!" the first barked while the other shouted, "Leave!"

Renamon groaned and looked to the doctor who'd ushered them in, "Are you sure it's any safer in here than it is out there? I mean at least out there, the men with the guns had other things to shoot at."

"Really not the time for this," Doctor Kido fired back, his hands raised just over his head as the armed guards surrounded them. It was just as much a surprise to him as it was to the rest of them they hadn't started shooting yet. Then again, it was kinda hard to comply with their contradictory orders like that. What were they supposed to do? Drop to the floor and crawl out of the building? Then again, maybe these guys were just as unsure about to do as they were. It wasn't like digimon regularly walked into the metropolitan building.

"Stand down!" Yamaki's voice echoed, pushing his way through the guards with several of his agents flanking him. Some were dressed in the typical black suit while others dressed completely in black. Yamaki was glaring daggers at doctor Kido, "I told you to take the side door."

"I was going to when I saw them standing around at front," he explained, thumbing at the kids. Yamaki raised an eyebrow at them, "It's about time. We've been looking for you three. Take them upstairs into custody."

"Custody?" Ryo repeated out loud, his voice just short of exploding at Yamaki. Yamaki gestured at the crowd of people trying to somehow get further away from the digimon and they understood why. Their partners were freaking them out. How could they not? Most of them had only ever seen digimon on the news causing havoc and destroying the city. And if not that, then it was only as a kid's toy line. They had every reason to be afraid of the digimon.

Yamaki added at just above a whisper, "It's just for show for their sake. Let my team escort you upstairs before these people start a riot. Never underestimate how stupid people can be in a crisis."

Against her better judgment, Rika nodded in agreement and went along with the guards for now. It wasn't like she had much choice in the matter anyway. Each of the guards pretended to place them in handcuffs before taking them onto an elevator one at a time to take them upstairs. Some in the crowd openly cried out against this, angered that the monsters were being brought further into the building instead of away. Others cheered at seeing the creatures being taken away. For once, they all knew what it was like to be the ire of so many people at the same time.

And it was irritating.

On the other hand, it was kind of humbling. This was what they had been putting Tamerkato through since this whole mess started.

Their heads cooled once they were safe upstairs in the offices where they found most of the former digidestined gathered along with several of the computer programmers responsible for making the Digital World - their school teacher Miss Kamiya, that ramen shop guy Motomiya, the fashion designer and rock star pair the Ishidas, and the detective and his wife - the Ichijoujis.

Rika took one look around the room and asked, "Where are mom and dad?"

"Yeah, where are our parents?" Henry added, scratching his head at the absence of their parents. After all, their families were a lot more involved in this than they'd initially thought. Detective Ichijouji answered the question quietly, "Either stuck in traffic or having to take the long way around to get here. That thing suddenly appearing like it did has resulted in all the major train routes being shut down and half the streets are clogged with either people trying to get out of the city or the Self Defense Force trying to get in. For now, we're all there is. Good to see you, Joe."

"Likewise," the doctor greeted him back. Then again, the situation was entirely too grim for anyone to be happy at the moment. Then Yamato finally raised his voice, "Has there been any sign of Tamer yet?"

The female agent Riley shook her head and frowned, "No. We have a description out to all available field operatives and agents. So far, no one has reported anything yet. Then again, with how crowded the streets are, he could be right in front of them and no one would know."

"What about you, Miss Kamiya?" Henry asked quietly. Her expression didn't change as she looked at him, "What about me?"

"Well…I mean…you seemed closer to Tamer than any of us. If he was going anywhere, he'd go to you," Henry pointed out sheepishly, not wanting to put her on the spot like this. However, he wasn't wrong. If Tamer was going to bother anyone, it would be her. After all, they were close - weren't they? She sighed, "He did come to my place last night."

"WHAT!?" the detective, rockstar, and Ryo both blurted out at the same. They were struck across the back of the head by their wives and Rika, respectively. Miss Kamiya raised up her hands defensively, "He…well…he spoke to me and Juri last night on the train ride home. This…all of this…it's Juri. He said something happened to Juri in the Digital World. He wasn't sure what. He just knew that whatever came back wasn't Juri."

"He knew!?" Rika snapped now, "Juri's been off since her partner died. If he knew, why the hell didn't he say anything?"

"He wasn't sure what it was at the time. And he was waiting to see what it was going to do. If he didn't tell you guys, I'm sure it was just to keep you all calm. Some of you…or rather us…do fly off the handle a lot," Miss Kamiya explained quietly, barely making anything resembling a case for either herself or The Digimon Tamer. A beat of silence followed - Rika wanted to be mad about it. But the idea that it could've been her or Ryo or anyone else instead of Juri was just as equally terrifying. Which raised the question - why did it go for Juri? Was it because she was emotionally unwell? Because she was vulnerable? Why did it go for her and not literally anyone else present?

But they would have to worry about that later. Now the question was how to stop that thing from destroying the world and saving Juri. Rika groaned, "Okay, so now what?"

Yamaki adjusted his clothes, "We've been trying to round up as many of you as we can since you're all the resident experts in this situation. We're also trying to coordinate between government organizations but that's slow going. That thing is messing with our communications - it's not affecting electronics but wireless communications are no good. Anything further that shouting distance leads to signal distortion. On top of that, conventional weapons aren't working on it. What few reports have trickled in from the Self Defense Force indicates that gunfire, explosives, and artillery barely scratch it. The Americans were proposing high grade ordinance from their nearby naval base but-"

"They want to bomb the city?" Dolphin blurted out in disbelief, "Are they insane? That'll do more harm than good! We need more time to evacuate the city before they try anything like that!"

They were some murmurs of agreement but Riley gestured out the window towards the Imperial Palace, "Don't worry. They're not allowing it yet. The Prime Minister and Emperor both said they'd consider any foreign action as an act of war. But that's the problem. The problem is that they're not allowing it now. Who knows about later? As soon as the city is all clear, they'll probably start authorizing a bomb drop."

That statement looked over the group of them like a horrifying nightmare. Was this really happening? It couldn't be. This couldn't be actually happening. This was insane - they were ready to destroy the city and they weren't even sure it was going to work. The concern was accentuated by the rock star kicking over a computer and cursing, "Dammit! Tamer screwed us again!"

They were pulled from their thoughts by a bright flash of light accompanied by screams.

"AAAH!"

When the light faded, everyone found Tamer lying on the ground atop Guilmon, massaging his head as he grumbled, "Damn that stings! I swear I was a lot better at landings before the new feet. It's gotta be the legs. They're still too short!"

"Takatomon. Please get off me," Guilmon whimpered from underneath him. Tamerkato scrambled to his feet and helped to pull the dinosaur up, "Sorry buddy. Didn't mean to fall on you."

"How are you so heavy when you're so small?" the dinosaur whimpered. Tamerkato scratched the back of his head and laughed, then paused, "Wait, are you calling me fat?"

"TAMER! Where the hell did you go?" Ishida shouted at the top of his lungs. Tamerkato rubbed his ear, "Ow! No need to shout! I'm right here. I thought you'd be happy to see me after I brought help!"

"What are you talking about?" That cooled Ishida down for a second, which was just as well since his wife was already escorting him back down to a chair and leering at him like a dog who'd misbehaved. Tamerkato took a second to look around before asking, "I'm talking about…wait a second, where'd they all go? They were with me a second ago."

A soft thunk from the far end of the room caught their attention, and they turned their heads towards a supply closet, "Hello? Is anyone there?"

"I'm here! Who else is?" another voice asked.

"Is that who I think it is?" Joe said with his mouth hanging open.

"Fascinating. I didn't know this was even possible. But where are we?" a new, older voice asked.

The monster makers looked at each other and one asked, "Was that Shibumi?"

"I know where we're not. Safe."

"Takeru?" Matt repeated in astonished disbelief.

"Palmon! Get your vine out of my face."

"That's not my vine! Hey! Quit it!" Palmon cried out in protest, "Biyomon! Get your beak out of there!"

"My beak's not touching anything!" Biyomon's voice answered.

"That's my horn! You get off!" Gabumon's voice said.

"Everyone be quiet! I think I found a door!" Wormmon's voice echoed from further inside. They heard the knob turn and a closet door swung open to reveal multiple rookie level digimon and two adult males spilling out of the closet and onto the floor. Immediately, everyone in the room jumped in surprise and security promptly surrounded the digimon with their weapons drawn. Shouts and threats flew but the many digimon weren't exactly threatened by a bunch of weird people with guns telling them what to do.

"On the ground!"

"Don't tell me what to do! And we're inside so that's a floor."

"I said on the floor!"

"No! You said on the ground, not the floor! Don't lie!"

"Do you really think pointing a gun at a talking…Veemon, what are you exactly? Dinosaur? Dragon?"

"I'm Veemon. What elshe would I be?"

"QUIET!"

The whole room fell quiet as a middle aged man with a mullet and a bushy beard stood up. He cracked a tired yawn and looked around at the whole room, scratching the back of his head as he stared out at the whole room in annoyance. It was Shibumi - the guy who only ever seemed to spend his time sleeping. He took one look around the room and asked one simple question, "Okay…this has been a fascinating experience but can I go back to the Digital World? It was a lot less stressful there."

"Shibumi!" one of the Monster Makers hurried over to his side, patting his shoulder and helping to lift him his up, "It's good to see you. Where the hell were you?"

Shibumi stared at his former fellow colleagues in silence for the longest time, staring at them with a curious fascination without uttering a word. Then he pinched the one named Dolphin on the arm until they shrieked, "AH! What the hell!?"

"Sorry. I wasn't sure you were real. Spending a lifetime in another world that doesn't operate by our rules makes it hard to tell what's real and what isn't. There were times I wasn't sure I was dreaming or not," he answered sheepishly. The one called Babel responded by throwing a punch at his shoulder, "What? Shibumi, never change. You're as out there as ever."

"What do you mean? It all made sense to me," Palmon remarked.

"We were in a house, under a fresh water lake, surrounded by salt water fish!" Shibumi countered.

"Okay, so is anyone going to fill me in on what is going on?" Riley interrupted with a raised hand, before gesturing to everyone that had just fallen out of the closet, "Who are they? Where did they come from? Isn't this a big security breach? And is that a talking plant?"

Palmon raised up her leafy arm and answered, "If you're talking about me, I'm pretty sure I'm a flower…or a cactus…not really sure."

"Do cactuses have vines?" Gabumon asked.

"All of these things are plants! Sir, shouldn't we have them detained?" she asked the Director who'd made a habit of massaging the side of his head more often than not. That statement had Ishida jumping up to his feet, "Like hell you will!"

"Matt, is that you?" the Gabumon asked happily, jumping out of the pile of digimon to go join his partner. The moment would've been happy if the0 guards didn't feel the need to train their guns on Gabumon. Still the little digimon hardly noticed as he wrapped his arms around Matt's legs, "It's been so long! I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too buddy," Ishida greeted him back, barely breaking his stoic and stern demeanor in the face of what should've been a warm reunion, "But let's catch up once things have calmed down. And stop pointing that gun at Takeru!"

Takeru straightened himself out and greeted the others, "Hey guys. How are you?"

"How are we? Takeru, you've been missing you idiot!" Ishida snapped at his little brother, raising his fists as if to punch the man but stopping and throwing his arms around him in a hug, "You stupid, paranoid, idiot. I'm glad you're safe."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you Matt," Takeru apologized to his older brother for whatever it was worth. Although it didn't appear to be much since Ishida went ahead and punched him in the shoulder as soon as he let go. Takeru yelped in pain, "Ow! I thought you were worried about me. What the hell was that for?"

"That was for worrying the hell out of me you idiot," Ishida answered, cracking his knuckles. Rika, Ryo, and Henry all exchanged surprised looks. In the books and the show, the two brothers were always shown as having a close relationship. It seemed impossible for one to ever be truly mad at the other. But here they were, throwing jabs and punches at each other like this was a normal occurence for them. In the midst of all this, Rika took note of the other digimon making their way to their partners - Biyomon to Sora, Gomamon to Doctor Kido, Gatomon to Miss Kamiya, Veemon to Motomiya, Wormmon and Hawkmon to the Ichijoujis. The remaining digimon were left to pout about the absence of their partners.

"Where's Mimi? Why isn't she here with the rest of you?"

"Yeah, where's Izzy?"

"And where's Cody!?"

"We've got a lot to catch you up on. But don't worry! They're on their way. It's chaos out there," Sora Ishida explained as she picked up her pink bird partner, "It's so good to see you guys. I missed you all. Have you been in the Digital World this whole time?"

"Yeah, we've been hiding. Takeru said there were some bad people after us," Biyomon said to her former partner. Takeru finally pushed himself away from his older brother to explain, "I got tipped off by those Burnt Leaf guys we ran into. They said that Hypnos was after our digimon. So I took them to the Digital World to protect them."

"Okay, I get that part but why didn't you tell us? Come on, man. We're all friends! We would've understood," Motomiya said.

"I wasn't sure who I could trust honestly," Takeru admitted quietly, "And the one person I did trust was nowhere to be found until recently. Speaking of which, what now Tamer?"

"Hang on! You trust Tamer, more than me?" Ishida interrupted.

"Rough," Terriermon remarked, earning him a smack from Henry.

"This has been quite the moment, but I'm not entirely sure we needed to be here," Renamon answered calmly.

"As I was saying!" Takeru interrupted, "What now Tamer? What do we do next?"

Tamerkato raised up his finger like he was going to say something, then paused with his mouth hanging open, "I don't know. Head's still fuzzy from the multiple Human and Digital Worlds sitting on top of each other. I was able to think more clearly in the Digital World so I'm mostly making this up as I go. First thing's first, we need to save Juri. We get her out of there. Then we can kill the D-Reaper."

"D-Reaper? That's the D-Reaper?" Shibumi repeated aloud, practically shouting. The other Monster Makers were just as equally stunned and unsettled by that revelation. Curly stood up from what she was doing to go the window, staring out in silently and eyes widened with horror at the realization of what they'd all wrought, "That's…D-Reaper?"

"Can someone fill me in? What's D-Reaper?" Riley asked with a raised hand. Tamerkato gestured out the window, "D-Reaper is that thing. A monster that showed up in the Digital World forever ago - focused mostly on eating everything it could get its hands on. The Guardians couldn't kill it so they did the next best thing and tricked it - burying it in the center of the Digital World with an equally strong enemy who just so happened to be a threat to them. Sort of a kill two birds with one stone solution. Only now that bird has come back bigger, stronger, smarter, and a lot angrier."

"It's also a program we made," Curly added quietly, "It was a regulation program - meant to foster growth in the simulation by making sure no one digital life form became too dominant or powerful. A check against _natural selection_ taking matters too far into its own hands. It was created to promote diversity of life. But we never expected it to do...this. It was the one thing we never expected to run rampant. It should've gone dormant whenever things leveled out."

Dolphin scratched his head quietly, trying to make sense of that revelation, "Maybe things got too powerful in the Digital World. After all, they started bleeding into this world. The D-Reaper is going to destroy everything to prevent it from becoming rampant."

"Or it's attacking us. Think about it. We're the dominant species on this planet and most other life forms don't stand a chance against us! Climate change, resource depletion, mass extinction, pollution...all caused by mankind. Is it any wonder this is happening?" Curly said. It was a surprisingly grim thing to hear. The only reason she didn't finish was because Babel came over to slap the back of her head, "Curly, I love ya! You is my girl. But chill! Snap back to reality for a second."

The woman froze for a second, taking a moment to collect her thoughts before nodding, "Right, sorry."

"Okay, so we're all here for the first time in a long time. What's the plan, Tamer?" Takeru asked Tamerkato who stood there with his hands in his pockets. All eyes were on him now as he started pacing and clapping his hands together, "Right! The plan! The plan I definitely have. Yes, I'll definitely be telling you about that plan, now...yeah..."

"You don't have a plan do you?" Gatomon accused from Miss Kamiya's arms. Tamerkato's shoulders slumped, "I said I was making this up as I go!"

"Great," Ishida threw up his hands in frustration.

"Calm down, Matt," his partner patted his arm to try and calm him down for whatever it was worth. Tamerkato quickly added, "Look, the best plan the Guardians could come up with was to bury it and hope it went away. A civilization that was so far ahead technologically that reality was their plaything couldn't think of a way to defeat it. Sorry I don't have a plan. I probably did. I definitely might have at some point...but I don't remember what it is."

The room filled with a collective groan and Tamerkato scratched the back of his head, apologizing profusely while he racked his brain to figure out what he could do.

"I wouldn't worry about it," Takeru answered calmly. Everyone in the room shot him a confused look, surprised that he could be so calm about the whole thing. With that same calm air, he explained, "Look. Destiny has always worked itself out in our favor. Remember?"

"You forget that Tamer over here was usually pushing us in the right direction. If he wasn't, literally anything could've happened," Ichijouji thumbed at the goggle headed boy. Henry finally chose to speak, "I'm not really sure destiny had anything to do with what's going on. After all, we've been doing just fine on our own so far."

* * *

Yamaki crossed his arms. It seemed to him that a lot of the anger in the room was horribly misplaced. After all, half of the people in the room were blaming a kid claiming to be some advanced alien race. However, it seemed obvious who the blame laid with - the Monster Makers. This thing was their creation after all. If they hadn't done their stupid college program, they wouldn't be in this mess. He also knew part of the blame laid with his superiors - at least, as far as he was concerned. And anyone insisting he was nursing a personal grudge was welcome to tell him that to his face.

He stood up and called for everyone's attention, "If we're done groaning and expecting a child to solve our problems, we still have a serious issue in the form of that thing out there. Shibumi, you've been a difficult man to get a hold off so you've got a lot of catching up to do. And you damn well have a lot to catch up on when it comes to fixing your mess. Yes, your mess. Don't make that face. You helped make Yggdrasil. As far as I care, this is your mess to clean up."

"Yggdr-what?" Tamer repeated stupidly. Yamaki thumbed over his shoulder and tapped a large series of servers lining the wall beside him, "This computer setup. They called it Yggdrasil."

"I call it Yggy for short," Daisy added with a smile. Yamaki groaned, "Not important right now. This computer is the thing running the computer program that became the wild ones…the digimon and the digital world. It's where that thing came from."

He gestured out the window towards the red mass growing on the horizon outside the window. Helicopters were circling it from above - some military firing at it to no effect and others were civilian news. It was obvious from here that the situation was deteriorating rapidly and they needed to come up with a solution quickly. The ever present reminder made his growing head ache turn into a slow migraine, "If I'd have known this was going to be what came out of that machine, I would've unplugged it the moment we got our hands on it."

"Don't you dare joke about that!" Daisy roared with anger, pushing her finger against Yamaki's chest in protest, as if she were a parent scolding her child…or perhaps a wife scolding her husband in this case, "That's our baby! That is the most advanced life simulation ever made. Don't even think about turning it off!"

He couldn't help but notice Takato was currently examining the computer program carefully. He knew that concentrating face because he'd seen it so many times on Izumi's face during the many nights he worked late to get the Juggernaut working. He was coming up with an idea. Tamerkato spun on his heels, "Got it."

"Got what?" Ichijouji asked, "Do you have a plan?"

"The start of one," Tamerkato said excitedly, rubbing his temples, "Yes...maybe...no...not quite...okay, headache's not helping so I'm just gonna start shouting ideas. There's two Digital Worlds and two Human Worlds. Two sets of overlapping realities also overlapping with each other. One of those worlds exists in this world as a computer program being run on an old computer! We could turn it off! It would destroy everything in the Artificial Digital World and the Natural Digital World would fall apart shortly after - like taking out half the puzzle pieces in a puzzle box! We can't have that! But what if we separate them? Move all the digimon in the Digital World from the Artificial one to the Natural one. Leave the D-Reaper program running on its own in the Artificial Digital World! Turn it off!"

"You just said that would destroy the Digital World!" Gatomon repeated loudly, "Dammit, Tamer. Why does everything boil down to destroying things with you?"

"Just the Artificial Digital World," Tamerkato clarified, "Everything else will move to the Natural Digital World."

"What?" Gatomon raised an eyebrow, half out of confusion and half out of frustration, "What the hell are you babbling about?"

Tamerkato pointed at the computer again, "This, the computer runs an Artificial Digital World. Another one made by the humans in an alternate version of this world. One where the digidestined don't exist and digimon is just a kids' toy franchise - shows, books, card games, action figures."

A beat followed before Gomamon complained, "Okay, is anyone following this? Because I have no idea what he's talking about. And here I thought Izzy was bad with slowing down."

Was it that confusing? It was, but Yamaki was at least able to follow it. Zhenyu's son Henry gestured at the computer, "To catch you guys up - this world, our world…the human world mixed itself up with another human world. One where digimon was just a card game and a tv show, and another one where the stuff that happened to you guys was real. In the world where digimon was just a card game, these guys-"

He pointed at the Monster Makers, "-including my dad, started a project in college to make life forms on a computer program. That became that world's version of the Digital World. An _artificial_ Digital World. That _artificial_ Digital World mixed with the Digital World you guys know - the _natural_ one. He wants to get all the digimon out of the _artificial_ Digital World and into the _natural_ one, then turn off the _artificial_ one. If that makes sense."

"Hang on…I'm not following any of this," one of the Monster Makers said, "What the hell? Two Digital Worlds? Two human worlds? What?"

Tamerkato sighed, "Okay…maybe we should start all this at the beginning. I'm getting really tired of explaining this."

He grabbed a marker off one of the desks and started writing on the walls just as Yamaki groaned, "Will you people stop writing on my walls? Seriously, is everyone in this room five?"

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** The teams are together for the first and Tamer has the beginnings of a plan! But will any of the others actually understand it? Will they be able to work together enough to actually carry out this plan? And will this plan work? Find out all this in the next chapter of the Tamer v2.0 - In His Name, due out in three weeks on March 6th at 8 PM CST! If you loved it, let me know what you guys think in the reviews section! And hey, don't forget to follow the story to keep up with all the latest updates and to favorite to show support! That's all I have for now, so let's take a look at previews for the next chapter!

" _Tentomon!" Izzy gasped, reaching out his arms so that his bug partner digimon could land in them. Mimi stepped aside as Palmon leapt into her own arms, "Mimi! Is it really you!? You're a lot taller than I remember. And a lot prettier too!"_

" _Ruki, this is the best surprise you could've given us," Mimi said tearfully, holding her partner close. She'd dreamt of seeing her partner again for so long that she wasn't sure it would ever actually happen._


	40. Show Em How It's Done

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 40: Show 'Em How It's Done**

Zhenyu Lee looked to the Metropolitan Building, holding Xiaochun in his lap as she played with Lopmon who didn't even try pretending to be a doll. He should've expected this mess would've gotten worse before it got better. He just wished it would've waited a few more days than it had. Henry ran out to help with Terriermon at the first chance - thankfully Xiaochun and Lopmon were convinced against going with them. Now, however, he couldn't help but wonder if it would've been better to let them go.

Then at least they wouldn't be heading into the Metropolitan Building under heavily armed guard. No sooner after he called his office, Yamaki's agents came knocking on his door and forced them out into a white SUV waiting in front of the complex. And despite all the traffic and road blocks, the SUV made its way on to the sidewalk without concern for public safety. Was it because the agency was so far above public scrutiny? Or was it because the situation was now that desperate. He wasn't sure which it was - and that made him all the more anxious.

As they drove past the entrance, he notice the lobby floor was crowded with people who'd taken refuge inside. It would've caused a scene to go in that way - so where they were going? The SUV they were in wheeled around the back where several more guards greeted them - some of whom looked like military and out of place with the rest of the guards wearing black suits.

There were other SUVs already there - unloading other families he didn't recognize until he saw the kids: Kenta and Kazu. The two boys who'd been spending time around Henry as of late. And then there were the Matsuda parents, who definitely didn't want to be there. Actually, why were they here?

Their son was dead and wasn't coming back. The last thing they probably wanted was to have anything to do with all this mess. Of course, he got confirmation of that when the father threw a punch as hard as he could at one of the agents - which ended with the others tackling him to the ground and piling on top of him to keep him restrained.

After a moment of struggling, the agents wrestled him back up to his feet and slapped a pair of handcuffs on him as he swore up a storm, "You fucking assholes! Let me go! Let me fucking go! Right the fuck now!"

"Whoa, check it out Kenta! Takato's dad is going nuts," Kazu pointed him out.

"Hey! Watch your language! There are kids present," one of the dad's said - one who didn't appear to have any familiar children with him. He was wrapping his hands around the ears of a small boy in the arms of a woman who was definitely his wife. The woman looked around nervously, "I don't understand. What is all this? Who are you people and why are we here? We haven't done anything wrong!"

"Ma'am, it's a matter of national security. We'll explain more once we're safely inside. Please, this way," one of the agents gestured towards a door guarded by two armed soldiers. Zhenyu had an idea of where they were going but wasn't sure why they needed to take the back entrance - at least until he saw the robot and the floating pink seal thing. Both definitely digimon. At this point, it was obvious who wasn't quite familiar with digimon right now. Those who weren't were uneasy or keeping their hands on their weapons. The ones who were used to the sight of digimon didn't even seem to register that they were there.

They followed the guard inside who led them to a large service elevator that took their group upstairs - past the administrative offices and into the secure area where the Hypnos Program had been operating. Once the elevator doors slid open, the agent released Mister Matsuda's handcuffs and gestured for them to continue straight ahead into the main room. Matsuda cursed him out but did as he was told - heading straight into the main office where most of the rest of the Monster Makers and the so called digidestined were present.

And for some reason, the fake Takato or Tamer or whatever his name was drawing on the wall with a marker while concluding what must've been a long drawn out lecture. Just by a quick glance of the scribbles, he could only assume it had something to do with that other worlds thing he talked about before, "And that's basically everything up to now. Any questions?"

Several hands shot up into the air and he sighed, "That aren't about the multiple worlds and realities."

Only Yamaki's hand stayed in the air and he asked, "When are you going to stop drawing on my walls?"

"Sorry," he dropped the marker and scratched the back of his head, "I just figured that a visual aid would help. My mistake."

"I don't know why you can't explain anything without drawing all over walls anyway," Yamaki picked up the marker and examined it closely, "This is permanent marker!"

The fake Takato apologized again but it didn't do anything to improve Yamaki's mood as he threw the marker into a trash bin in a fit of anger, "Dammit, kid. You're going to give me a freaking aneurysm."

Tamerkato looked back at the rest of the group and asked, "Okay, anyone else have any other questions?"

That was when Zhenyu noticed several other digimon in the room - a lot of them. He wasn't surprised to see this but his family-

"AAAH!"

"Whoa cool! There's more of them! Look Lopmon! More friends for you! And some of them are so cute! But not as cute as you Lopmon! You're the best! Ooh, one of them is a little birdie!"

"Holy shit! Where do they keep coming from?"

"You're going to feed us to them, aren't you?"

"Geez, you humans sure do a lot of screaming," Terriermon said from somewhere in the crowd, "Hey! Henry! Your dad's here!"

He should've expected his son to end up here - of course Yamaki was going to get everyone he could in an emergency situation like this. Hell, Henry probably only made it down the block before he got picked up. Henry tried jumping to see over the adults and finally ran out of the crowd before seeing the. And the biggest smile appeared on his face, "Dad, you're alright!"

Then his smile turned to a frown, "What are all you guys doing here?"

"What are we doing here? Henry, what are you doing here of all places?" his wife asked, "What is all this?"

"This…this is what we've been all been working on," Zhenyu explained to his wife, "It's how we got Xiaochun and the others back safely from the Digital World."

The explanation didn't do him any favors, as she was obviously annoyed with the whole thing. Trying to avert her attention to something else, he instead asked, "What I want to know is why are we here?"

Yamaki massaged his temple, "All important persons needed to be on deck - since some of the important persons were minors, it was decided their families should be brought too to mitigate any child labor laws and blah blah blah. -"

Mister Matsuda cut him off and roared, "Families? We are not families! That thing-"

He gestured at Tamerkato angrily and added, "-isn't my son. He's one of those things-"

He pointed at the digimon, "-wearing his face!"

"They can do that?" his wife asked.

The panic quickly spread to the other parents who were now weary of the children, "Wait, so are these kids even our kids or-"

"Alright, enough," the not-Takato stamped his foot angrily, "I'm sorry. Your son is gone. I can't fix that. Believe me, this is as awkward and painful for me as it is for you. But we don't have time for this! I'm trying to-"

"I don't care what you want or what you're trying to do. What I want is to get the hell out of this city before that thing kills us all!" Mister Matsuda roared again, turning to leave. Two of the agents tried to stop him but blocking his exit only seemed to make him angrier. Thankfully he didn't try throwing any punches this time since these agents had no reservations about keeping their hands on their guns. It also helped that his wife was trying to calm him down.

"Actually, I'd like to know why we're here too," another of the adults finally spoke - a woman wearing a kimono asked. She seemed really out of place here, especially holding a toddler in her arms who excitedly oohed at all the digimon present and kept reaching for them to play with. The woman held the boy closer and asked, "We don't know any of you people and we were out looking for our daughter Juri before any of this happened. Where is she and what does she have to do with any of this?"

"Yeah, I'd like an answer to that as well," the man beside this woman asked, obviously the husband. The school teacher came forward, "Your daughter is part of the problem. It's a long story and we don't have time to explain it all. The short version is she's in that thing and we're trying to come up with a plan to stop it that doesn't involve killing her."

"What do you mean she's in that thing!?" the man demanded, "How can my daughter be in that!? I know she's involved in all this but what the hell does this have to do-"

"Her partner died in the Digital World. That trauma, that loss, became the catalyst for that thing to take over her body. Her spirit. It's possessing her, riding her like a costume while it goes around to continue its mission of learning, becoming stronger, and destroying anything it deems too strong," Not-Takato explained to him.

The man didn't seem to buy any of this and crosses his arms angrily, "Bullshit, I've heard a lot of crap over the last few days and I'll be damned if I'm going to believe any of that. Juri's strong."

"Apparently not as strong as you'd like to think," he fired back.

"How dare-"

"Look, believe it or not, your daughter is in there and she needs saving," not-Takato interrupted angrily. A pause followed as one of the digimon, a horned lizard wearing a pelt raised its hand to ask, "So how are we going to separate the Digital Worlds and make sure only the digimon are on the...whatever one."

Not-Takato's face turned grim as he answered, "I'll need to go back to the Bastion and fire up some Guardian tech-"

"Ancient tech," the detective interrupted. Not-Takato sighed, "Same thing. It's going to use the data from the Natural Digital World to separate the two worlds and pull them apart. But to make sure we get the digimon, I need help scanning the entire Digital World in as short amount of time as possible."

"Perfect plan. It's a good thing you've got us!" the detective said, raising up his digivice and his work partner. A pause followed before he turned to the others, "What about you, mister noodle chef?"

A man wearing an apron uncrossed his arms and smiled wide, ""Yeah, I'm game for this. How about you, Veemon?"

"Alwaysh! I've been raring to get back into the action!" a little blue dinosaur with horns shouted. Both men excitedly fist bumped as the cook declared, "Alright! Ken and Davis are back in action. What do we need to do?"

"Wait, Ken?" Ryo stammered in disbelief, approaching the detective with wide eyed shock, "Ken?"

Not-Takato snapped his fingers and hurried over to one of the computers, "We'll need technology from the Bastion - it'll do a scan of the Digital World for all digimon. Artificial and Natural. No one's going to die on my watch. We use the archive of…wait, where's Izzy's laptop? We need that. It has the database of the Digital World on it which I can use to help pull apart the two Digital Worlds."

"Still no idea," Yamaki said, "It could be a while before we find them."

"Well, no more time for discretion," Not-Takato turned to Rika, "How do you feel about finding your parents?"

"Can do," she gave a thumbs up. His smiles widened, "You're a life saver Rika. Find them and bring them here."

Daisy clapped her hands together excitedly and hurried over to her computer, "This is getting kind of exciting! Well, if you guys are going to the Digital World, it only makes sense to do some reconnaissance first. Make sure things are safe! The last thing you guys need is to land in a mess. Let's see if the Ark can handle some updates and attach a camera program to it."

"Ark? It seems like you've all been quite busy while I've been away. I'd like to see what you all have created without me," a familiar voice said excitedly. Then Shibumi appeared, half balding with a mullet growing from what remained of his hair and a bushy beard growing on his face. He was certain this man was dead after being gone for so long but here he was - alive and acting like he hadn't been missing for the last few years. Zhenyu was so taken aback by this that he couldn't help but blurt out, "SHIBUMI!?"

The man stopped in his tracks and waved at him with a stupid half grin, "Oh, hello Tao. You're graying now."

So much for a friendly greeting, "And you're balding."

* * *

Henry covered his face to hide his embarrassment upon hearing his dad's nickname. Was that always his dad's name? He had no idea he even had a nickname - especially not one that sounded so pretentious. He needed to get his mind off this conversation and looked back at Tamerkato, "So you're going to the Digital World...worlds to rip them apart. What about the rest of us here? Because we're not just going to be sitting around and fighting that thing didn't exactly do us any good in the Digital World or here."

"Actually, fighting is exactly what I need you guys to do," Tamerkato adder with a snap of his fingers. This angered Monodramon who promptly snapped, "He said we just tried that! It didn't work! What part of that were you not listening to?"

"The part where you guys weren't listening to me. You're not attacking it to defeat it, you're attacking it to get its attention off the Digital World," Tamerkato explained to them. Henry was confused now and was sure this was the rampant insanity the others were so wear of, "It's not in the Digital World. It's here."

Tamerkato nodded in agreement, "You're right. It is here. And there. It's…complicated. Part of its consciousness is here in the Human World. The other part of its conscious is in the Digital World. It may be smart but it can only pay attention to so many things happening at once. If you make enough noise here in this world, it'll pull it's attention away from the Digital World."

"But wouldn't all the fighting in the Digital World already do that?" Renamon asked, "We left the Digital World just as it turned into a war zone!"

"That's right! The Digital World was a battlefield!" Gatomon called out with a pointed claw. Tamerkato held up two fingers, "That's the other advantage. If it's busy paying attention over here, it'll give the digimon on the other side a better fighting chance. The mission here is to save as many lives as we can until the plan is ready to act out."

"Okay, but there are two other parts of this plan we still haven't figured out. How do we stop the D-Reaper here in this world? It's not like turning off that computer will stop it here," Yamaki said matter of factly. Tamerkato gestured at the building around, "I thought that part of the plan was obvious? You guys built a weapon that targets Digital Life! Specifically, it sucks Digital Life back into the Digital World. Once the worlds are separated, we put our digimon back into the Natural Digital World. Then fire the weapon to send the D-Reaper back to the Artificial World. Once it's off, we turn this-"

"Um, guys," Daisy called to get their attention, waving her hand in the air, "Either my camera program is messed up or the situation in the Digital World is a lot more chaotic than I realized."

She turned the monitor around to face them and showed them the screen. The sight was something to behold - not in grand awe but in terror. The Digital World they had left just the day before had become a fiery hell scape - barren wastes burning to ash while countless digimon battled for their lives against a growing tide of red with no end in sight. Everyone crowded around the monitor so Daisy presses a few more keys to get it on multiple monitors. Despite that, it was obvious to everyone what was on the screen.

The digimon that could be made out on the small screen appeared to be retreating away from the mass as they threw everything they had at it. Some even made a run for the ship, pleading into the camera for some kind of help before being pulled back into the fight by another digimon. Patamon gasped, "The Digital World did NOT look like that when we left."

"Time's been moving differently between the worlds. A couple of hours out here turned into weeks in there," Sora explained quietly, "Remember, you guys were only gone for about a day our time."

At that announcement, Gatomon became furious, "Days passed in the Digital World already? We need to go back! We need to-"

"We already have a plan remember?" Tamer interrupted her quickly, snapping his fingers at the remaining digimon whose partners weren't present, "Which brings up another thing. You guys are going to need to find your partners if you're going to be of help. Soon as we get out there, the better."

"We'll make sure they get to 'em," Rika said with a hand on her hips as she moved towards Palmon and Tentomon, "Mom and dad are going to freak out when they see you guys."

"I bet I'll freak out more! Oh, I can't wait to see Izzy again!" Tentomon remarked. It was hard to miss the nervous look on Rika's face as it seemed she didn't quite have the heart to tell the digimon about what had happened to his partner. And he was sure it was not going to be a fun conversation.

"Wait a second...mom and dad?" Palmon repeated. That was another subject she wasn't sure she was ready for. Trying to take her mind off the subject, Rika took out her D-Terminal and started typing into it, "I'm going to message them now to see where they are. Then we'll take you."

"Then we'll head to the Digital World once the attack begins," Tamerkato stated, "As soon as its attention is pulled, we can head on our way."

"You're forgetting the other part of this plan of yours," Yamaki interrupted again before gesturing at Juri's parents, "How are you going to save the girl? You said no one else is going to die, right? Well how does that figure into your plan?"

Tamerkato frowned, "Still working that part out. I'm thinking this up by the seat of my pants."

"That's...that's now how the saying goes," Yamaki groaned. Juri's father added, "You're telling me you don't even have a plan to save my daughter!?"

"Thirty minutes ago, I didn't have a plan to save either of these miserable rocks! Give it time. I'll come up with something." Tamerkato interjected with a smile. Unfortunately, Yamaki didn't share his optimism, "I seriously doubt we have thirty minutes."

* * *

Mimi rolled her husband's chair down the busy street as quickly as she could, but everything was in chaos. Stopped cars blocked most major intersections, abandoned by their drivers in terror of the flocks of bird creatures blocking out the sky overhead. People ran in terror every way they could, with police and military trying their best to maintain order while shooting into the sky at the bird creatures swarming the city. And now of all times, her husband decided to start playing with his D-Terminal, "Honey! What the hell? That isn't the time for that!"

"It's Ruki! She's says she's on her way and wants to know where we are!" he answered, looking up from the screen long enough to take in his surroundings, "Let's see. This looks like...gah, I don't even recognize what ward we're in. Where are we?"

Mimi couldn't believe his forgetfulness but tried to remind herself of his missing leg. He was very medicated and probably was only half aware of everything going on, "Are you kidding? Honey, we're on Meiji-Dori Avenue and Shinjuku-Dori Avenue! We're right in front of the police station!"

"Oh, right!" he said as he started typing on the device. She heard a beep which meant Ruki replied but she couldn't focus on that now. She had to find their way to the Metropolitan Building. But that was easier said than done at this point. The whole city had become an obstacle course with all the people, cars, and debris obstructing their path. And there was no way her husband would be get around most of it in his wheelchair. This was just like when they were kids, only now they didn't have their partners with them. Worse was knowing that their only daughter was running around out there in the middle of all this. Then she had a realization, "Wait, did you say...Ruki's on her way?"

He nodded and gave a frown, "Yeah, with a surprise. I have no idea what that means. I'm hoping her rebellious streak isn't going to appear as some kind of half thought out rescue attempt! We really need to do something about that."

"She only acts out because you disappeared!" she pointed out to her husband.

"Hey! That only happened because I was forcibly taken against my will!" he argued back, pausing as he took a look around, "This is bad. We should get off the street and get out of here before-"

He was cut off mid sentence as one of the bird creatures stopped in front of them. It was horrifying to have to look at one so close in front of them like this. Mimi had never seen one so up close and wasn't sure what to think of it being so close in front of her. At least, that was what she thought until she realized its eyes weren't eyes at all. It was some kind of gross facsimile - like eyes were a thing it had only ever heard of before. It's true eyes were on its wings - big yellow orbs that did something akin to a blink as its pupils darted every which way. Then it spoke with a mechanical rasp like knives digging into sheet metal, "Image data sent. Resuming search!"

"Search for this!"

Kyubimon descended from a rooftop and landed atop the creature. It barely reacted to being slammed into the ground, almost like it didn't even know it had been hit. Instead it tried to maneuver its wings to look at her in vain as Kyubimon swiped into its eyes with her claws until it burst into data, "Finally. We killed one. These things shouldn't be as hard to kill as they are. Are you both alright?"

"Yes, we're fine. Where's Ruki?" he asked in a panicked tone, "We thought she was with you."

Kyubimon turned her head behind her, looking towards Rika running towards them with a cactus in her arms and a large ladybug fluttering behind...Palmon and Tentomon. Palmon complained, "How much further? I want to see Mimi!"

"She's over there," Rika said, gesturing towards her mother, "And there's dad too."

"Dad?" Tentomon paused, taking one good look at Koushiro in the wheel chair with his missing leg, "IZZY!?"

"Tentomon!" Izzy called out in amazement, reaching out his arms so that his bug partner digimon could land in them. Mimi stepped aside as Palmon leapt into her own arms, "Mimi! Is it really you!? You're a lot taller than I remember. And a lot prettier too!"

"Ruki, is this?" She began to ask.

"You bet."

"This is the best surprise you could've given us," Mimi said tearfully, holding her partner close. She'd dreamt of seeing her partner again for so long that she wasn't sure it would ever actually happen. And here she was - in her arms. She was so happy she could feel herself getting ready to cry. Tentomon and Izzy were having their own moment too, mostly with Tentomon demanding to know why his leg was missing and what exactly had happened while they were away.

Rika put a hand to her hips, "Well, I figured if anyone was going to bring your partners to you, it should be me. You're welcome, mom. Dad."

"There it is again! Why do you keep calling her mom?" Palmon repeated.

"Wait a second. Dad?" Tentomon did the same. Both digimon pulled away from their partners in surprise. Then Palmon blurted out, "Mimi, is she-"

"That's right," Mimi beamed proudly, looking over to her daughter with the biggest smile on her face. Koushiro turned his partner around to face their daughter, "Palmon. Tentomon. Meet our daughter. Ruki."

Both digimon had mouths wide open in a shock and surprise. Rika was sure they were just trying to take everything in until eventually Palmon gasped, "GOSH! DOES THIS MEAN YOU TWO GOT MARRIED!? WITHOUT INVITING US!?"

"Well, we didn't know where you guys were at the time," Koushiro offered defensively as their two digimon became increasingly agitated over the fact that they missed out on one of the most important times in their partner's lives. Made all the worse by the knowing that they weren't even aware it happened. Rika whistled to get their attention and pointed out, "Not to ruin the moment guys but we still have a city to save. Well, a city and a world. We can talk about all this later."

"I don't understand though, how did this happen?" she asked their daughter. Rika was already busy taking a hold of her father's wheel chair and pushing him off the main road into a side street, "It's a long story and it involves goggle head. Like a lot of goggle head. He has a plan though-"

"Oh hell no, last time his plans got my mom, your grandmother, killed!" Mimi snapped angrily, gasping when she realized she'd just said that in front of her daughter. Ruki waved her hands up in agreement, "Don't get me wrong, I don't like his plans or ideas any more than you do but we know the whole plan so there's no surprises. At least, no surprises we won't expect."

"Oh, and what's that?" her husband asked with a tone that indicated scholarly curiosity. She knew that tone too well to know they were n for a long question and answer session. Rika shrugged, "First, we need to get you back to the others at that government place. They need you to fix that juggernaut program."

"NO! I will not work on that again," he abruptly refused. It wasn't hard to understand why - he hated that project and all it did to him. And knowing what it did to digimon made her hate it as well. And using it was a part of Tamer's plan? To hell with that. Even so, Rika tried to explain, "Look, the others will tell you more when you get there. Something about how that weapon is the only thing that'll work on that thing!"

She gestured at the growing red mass in the center of the city. There was no doubt about its size but the fact that using Juggernaut was their only option made them uneasy. And if Tamer was involved, "What exactly is his plan?"

"It was a lot of technobabble but it sounds like he wants to split the Digital World and turn it off? Look, I kinda spaced out on it," Rika admitted to them. There was Rika reflecting her mother. It seemed they had other things in common besides disliking Tamer. Rika looked at their partners for some kind of help and Palmon answered, "Well don't look at me. I can never follow the stuff he's saying. Guy talks a mile a minute."

Her husband sighed, "At least you're honest about it."

He turned his wheelchair to face her, "I'm going to stop them from fixing the Juggernaut, even if it means I have to destroy the computer myself."

He sounded so sad when he said that. She knew he loved computers almost as much as he loved her - and the idea of destroying one probably went against everything he stood for. Especially one he helped to build. Kyubimon sighed, "To fill in the gaps that Rika left out - Tamer's planning on splitting the two Digital Worlds so that all the digimon occupy one world and that thing occupies the other. Then we use the Juggernaut to send that thing from this world to the other Digital World. To do that we-"

Kyubimon stopped mid sentenced, staring straight at her. Mimi took a step back, "What?"

"It heard me," she replied. What? Mimi turned around to see one of the bird creatures standing there staring at them. She practically jumped backwards in surprise, wondering just how long that thing had been standing there and how much of that it had heard. It registered that they were now staring at it and ascended skyward to get away.

Mimi cursed, "Crap."

"Well that complicates things," her husband added quietly, turning his wheelchair again, "We need to go to the tower."

"What, why?" Palmon asked, "I thought we were supposed to distract that thing?"

"Don't you get it, Palmon? It knows! If it knows, it's going to protect itself. It's going to attack the tower now!" Tentomon pointed out, "And everyone is still up there!"

"Oh…oh no! All those people! Sora! Biyomon! They're all up there!" Palmon gasped. Rika cursed her luck, "Do you have your digivices?"

"Always," the parents said together; she reached into her coat pocket to hold up her digivice and her husband reached into the bag on his wheelchair to show his. Rika smiled and Mimi understood why. What they had here was a rare opportunity for a family bonding activity. It may not have been the typical family bonding experience that most people wanted - but there was no denying that having this in common was nice.

Rika nodded, "Okay...and Tamer also said we need your laptop. Do you have it?"

"Laptop?" Koushiro repeated quietly, "Oh, yes. I know which laptop. And yes. I always have it."

He reached into his backpack and produced an old yellow laptop with a pineapple insignia on the back. The one he'd had from their first trip to the Digital World. The one thing she was never able to convince him to let go of. It seemed he was right to always hang on to it. There was a noise in the distance that caught their attention and they looked towards its source at the Shinjuku Towers. The bird creatures were now converging on the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. And they were the only ones who knew why. Rika produced a blue card from her deck and Koushiro held out his digivice to his partner, "Like old times, right honey?"

"Let's show our daughter how it's done," she said in agreement. Both of their partners jumped to their feet excitedly, "Oh! We missed this!"

"Tentomon! Warp Digivolve to! HerculesKabuterimon!"

"Palmon! Warp Digivolve to! Rosemon!"

Mimi noticed her daughter's mouth falling wide open in surprise at their forms, "Whoa! When did you guys get to have Mega level digivolutions?"

For once, she was doing something her daughter was interested in. She tussled the girl's hair and added, "Takeru didn't publish all of our adventures, y'know? Remind us to tell you about it some time."

"Then let me show you what we can do," Rika said, raising her digivice and swiping a strange blue card from her deck through it, "Digimodify! Digivolution Activate!"

Light enveloped her partner and Mimi watched in astonishment as Kyubimon began to digivolve. Digivolution at will through a card game.

"Kyubimon! Digivolve to! Taomon!"

The look on her husband's face was priceless. He stammered out, "Your partner is...you used a card from the card game to...that is...I have so many questions!"

"Oh boy, Izzy is losing his mind again," HerculesKabuterimon cackled. Then the people screamed and panicked even louder. The sight of not one, but three new large digimon appear so suddenly sent the already panicked populace into a bigger panic as they fled away. Mimi buried her face in her hands and groaned, "Oh right. We're out in the city."

"We should go. All of us," Taomon stated matter of factly, scooping up Rika in her arms, "Hang on Rika."

"You're right! Let's go to that tower!" Rosemon agreed. HerculesKabuterimon took up Mimi in one hand and Izzy in the other, using a third to hold his wheel chair. With a loud buzz, his wings took them to the air and they were off with Rosemon and Taomon following close behind. It was just like old times. HerculesKabuterimon used his large frame to protect them from the many bird creatures and the soldiers shooting at them from below. Meanwhile, Rosemon cleared a path forward through the cloud of bird creatures using her whip and guided them safely through the horde. At least she did until she realized the bird creatures weren't trying to stop them. They were actually trying to make their way to the tower to attack - at which point she turned around and started thinning their numbers to stop as many of them as she could.

"Rosemon!" Mimi called out in awe of her partner's decision.

"I need to hold them back!" Rosemon shouted.

"Save your strength! This is marathon, not a race," Taomon declared, flicking out a slip of paper from her hands and throwing them, "Thousand Spells!"

The talisman split into a thousand pieces of paper that flew in every direction, exploding on impact with any of the bird creatures that were following close behind. Then she retrieved her brush with that same hand and drew a symbol in the air, "Talisman Spell!"

The symbol expanded in size until it formed a barrier in the shape of the yin-yang symbol - stopping the creatures in their tracks as they slammed into it like birds into a glass window pane. With their path clear, they continued onward towards the roof of the towers as bird creatures from around the city began to converge on their location.

Once they were set on the roof, Mimi grabbed a hold of her husband's wheelchair and said, "We'll head straight to the others and warn them."

"Okay, we'll stay out here and hold the rest of them back!" Rika said in agreement, looking back to the three digimon. Mimi couldn't help but feel aglow with pride as her daughter gave her a thumbs up. She cheered, "Rosemon, show her how it's done!"

"We've got this Mimi," Rosemon said, leading the digimon as she looked back to the growing crowd of alien bird creatures. She didn't wait a second longer. She pushed her husband and hurried her way into the building. As soon as they were inside though, Mimi realize the foolishness of her plan once she gazed at the many stairs that led down. Koushiro looked back at his wife, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"You must be stupid if you think I'm letting you out of my sight again, Mister Izumi," Mimi laughed, turning his wheelchair around so that she could guide him down. She took the first step backwards, taking care to pull her husband's chair so that he didn't slip or fall out. It took them a good minute to clear the first flight and get to the first landing. That was one down. Who knows how many more to go?

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** The plan is under way! Will it work in stopping the D-Reaper? Will the D-Reaper stop them before they can even pull off the plan? And how will the they rescue Juri? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out in three weeks on Friday March 27th at 8 PM CDT. I know there's going to be a delay until the next update and I apologize for that. However, some personal things came up and dealing with them is sapping my desire to write. Too many things happened all at once and I need some time to get my head straight. Until then, I hope you guys enjoyed the latest chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name. If you guys loved it, let me know by favoriting the story and following to keep up with the latest update. Let me know what you thought in the review section too! That's all for now, let's take a look at previews for the next chapter!

 _He threw the ball of fire as hard as he could into the bird creature and the heat of the flames practically burned his hand. But the bird didn't react to it all, instead rising up into the air and taking him with it as if it were mocking him. He hated this. Was all his effort for nothing? Was there where his life was going to end? Getting killed trying to protect the annoying kids he'd abandoned because of a good hearted whim?_

 _Not a bad way to go out after all he'd been through, huh? It was better than what he deserved. He knew that much._

" _IMPMON!" Mako cried out in a panic._

" _NO!" Ai shouted._


	41. Compromised

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 41: Compromised**

Ken Ichijouji, Wormmon, Davis Motomiya, Veemon, Tamer, and Guilmon landed in the Digital World - outside the familiar ruins of the Hallowed Bastion. The terrifying castle that they had come to so long ago as kids still stood as a decrepit reminder of what was and the terrible things of the past. Ken in particular was uncomfortable at the sight of it but Tamer hurried them inside. And all the better for it too because they could hear the chaos the Digital World descended to around them.

The Digital World was burning to the ground all around them - its skies darkened by more digimon than could be counted fighting for their lives. And they needed to hurry if they were going to put an end to this before any lives ended.

As Tamer led them inside, Ken couldn't help but reminded of his own past here and the things he had done because of it. The thoughts still haunted him as the memories came back with every echoing step in the empty halls. He shook his head to pull himself out of it and asked a question to break the silence, "Where exactly are we going?"

"To find a computer. We get one of those and we can connect it to your digivices. Then you guys just have to do your thing," he answered quickly, leading them further into its darkest depths. He and Davis exchanged anxious looks, both men thinking the same thing. It had been a long time since either of them had any kind of adventure in the Digital World. And despite all the terrible things going on, it was good to be back in the Digital World again. Even better, it was good to see their partners again after not having seen them in so long.

"You've cut your hair, Ken," Wormmon said from behind him. Ken snorted, "The hair was getting in my eye during work. It was kind of a problem."

"Oh? You're still a detective, right?" Wormmon asked quietly. Ken nodded, "That's right. But I've gone private now. Still working around the clock for anyone who'll hire me. The last case I was working was finding Takeru and you guys actually. We were all worried sick. Yamato was the worst of all of us - guy was paranoid something happened."

"That'sh nothing. You should've sheen the way TK wash acting! He wouldn't let ush leave the houshe unlessh he wash there with ush," Veemon pointed out. Davis laughed at his partner's words, "You guys are safe and we're back together. That's all that matters. By the way, you've gotta meet my son. You'll love him."

"Shon? Did you and Kari finally tie the knot?" Veemon asked. Davis waved him off, "No, it didn't work out. You were there, remember?"

Veemon shrugged it off and shook his head, "I alwaysh figured you two would get back together. You two were alwaysh sho happy together. It'sh a shame."

Davis crossed his arms and growled, "Hey! Don't you talk about my wife that way. She's the greatest person I've ever met! Especially when she does this thing with her mou- I mean, um...never mind!"

Ken rolled his eyes, unsurprised that Davis almost made the conversation so inappropriate. He could tell from the quizzical look Veemon was giving him that the digimon didn't quite understand what he was about to say. At least, that's what Ken thought until Veemon said, "Do you mean mouth? You mean eating your food? You always were a really good cook! I bet she eats a lot of your food every day!"

That was almost worst - Ken couldn't quite tell if Veemon was teasing his partner or not. And he could tell even Davis was stumped by his response, "Eh…something like that."

"Are you talking about food?" Guilmon stopped in his tracks, sniffing the air around him, "I don't smell anything. Is there food? I'm really hungry."

Davis gave the digimon a big thumbs up and smiled for the red dinosaur, "Well, I'll whip us up a big celebratory dinner after all this is over. You guys can all come over to my ramen shop and we'll eat a big meal to celebrate! All of us!"

"Can you even afford to feed all of us? More specifically, can your business survive feeding all of them?" Ken asked, gesturing towards the three digimon present. Davis simply laughed it off, "Don't get too high and mighty there, mister detective. It's not like you've ever really looked at my business."

"I have," he admitted, "I keep tabs on everyone I know. Mind if I ask what you did with twenty million yen?"

"One word!" Davis' smile widened, reminding Ken of the fact that this guy was more than capable of pulling the wool over his eyes and surprising him if he wanted to, "Franchising!"

Yep. There it was. The surprise he didn't see coming. He smiled as he realized this meant still able to surprise him - even with all his investigative skills and intelligence, his best friend of years was still able to do something surprising. Franchising. He laughed at the idea that he might become the richest member of the digidestined.

"We're here!" Tamer announced to their surprise, stopping in front of an innocuous door. Nothing in particular about this door stood out. It was so ordinary, he didn't even realize it was there until Tamer stopped in front of it. Tamer pushed it open without a second thought and called for them to come inside, "Come on. We've got work to do."

"Okay, what is this place? I don't think we've ever seen this room," Davis stated as he went in next. Veemon hopped along just behind them, Ken pausing to glance at his partner. His partner was just as anxious as he was, he knew just from the look on his face. And the little digimon could sense he was just as uncomfortable, "It's okay, Ken. I'm right here. We'll be going in together."

"I know Wormmon. I just need a moment," he replied. Wormmon touched his partner and replied, "It'll be alright Ken. Take your time."

"Thanks Wormmon," he nodded grimly, taking a moment to steady his nerves and calm down before heading inside. Within was a plain room - probably no bigger than a student's bed room with a desk in one corner and a bed in the other. On the desk was a small data chip covered in a fine layer of dust that Tamer blew off and picked up, "Perfect. Let's see if this still fires up."

He pressed a button on it and tucked it just behind his ear - where a small screen appeared in his field of view just in front of him. Davis whistled, "Whoa, cool. What is it?"

"It's a computer. A student's computer so it's mostly for reading and watching movies. But it'll do for now," Tamer answered matter of factly, "Come on. Let's get to the armory and get you guys some scanners and communicators!"

"Scanners?" Davis repeated stupidly, "I thought we were using our digivices?"

Takato snapped his fingers, "You are. But I'll need those scanners to act as access points so that this computer receives the data. That's the only way this plan will-"

Ken heard a beep from his D-Terminal and retrieved it from his coat pocket, "Sorry."

"I hope you're not too busy to help save the world," Tamer crossed his arms with an annoyed tone. Guilmon whined, "I'm too hungry to save the world."

"We haven't even done anything yet!" Veemon pointed out to him. Tamer tapped his foot impatiently, "He's always like that. It's a miracle when he's not hungry."

Ken read the message and realized urgency was a factor. He shouted to get their attention, "Guys! It's from Izzy and Mimi's daughter. She says the thing is on to the plan."

"What?" Tamer hurried to look at the screen himself in disbelief, "But that's not possible. It shouldn't have any idea what we're doing. How...no, never mind. We need to hurry. Time moves faster on this side of the world. We still have time to counter it. We have time to think this through. First, carry on with the plan on this side. Let's get going."

His pace hurried and they struggled to keep up with him - trying their best to sprint after him as Tamer hurried along at what must've been a break neck pace. His years as a detective gave him a bit of an edge when it came to keeping up, however it was Davis' willingness to keep going that had him surprised even when he was out of breath. Ken smirked back at the chef, "Out of shape?"

Davis smiled back at him and grunted, "You wish. You think I'd be able to run a restaurant without the stamina to keep up? Besides, your breathing is getting heavier."

"I'm not sweating," Ken fired back. Wormmon and Veemon laughed, the little worm digimon remarking, "It's so good to see you two getting along so well after all this time. Although I would've thought your competitive streak would've died by now."

"As long as I'm alive, I'll always be showing the world that I'm just as good as Ken Ichijouji!" Davis said with a thumbs up. Ken sighed, "I haven't been a child genius in years and you know it. Hell, I'm not even great at soccer any more."

Davis slapped him on the back, "You better believe I'm not going to let my rival fall behind me even an inch."

"If you two are done, I need your help opening this door! I don't have the codes to get it open," Tamer announced as he slid to a stop in front of another door. Another door in another section of the castle Ken didn't recognize. Davis looked down at his partner, "Go for it, Veemon!"

"V-HEADBU- OW!" Veemon's cry of attack turned into a cry of pain as he slammed into the metallic door and tumbled back onto the ground, "Bad idea, my mishtake. What givesh? Why didn't it work?"

"The Guardians wouldn't make a door that could be knocked over by a rookie level digimon. I think they'd be insulted by that," Tamer put a hand to his hips and turned back to the door, "We'll need to pry it open. It should still slide at least. Here!"

He grabbed onto the crack of the door and started pulling from one side. Ken raised an eyebrow at Tamer's antics, "Can't you just hack it? I mean, the Ancients-"

"Guardians," Tamer corrected.

"The Assholes created a door that couldn't be blasted open but anyone who wanted to could just pry it open?" Ken asked with crossed arms. Tamer looked back at him, "Do you want to save the world or do you want to just stand there nitpicking?"

Each of them took an end of the door and pulled it open as hard as they could to get it to slide apart. With a little give, they finally for the door open and Tamer rushed in. The rest of them stared in awe at the racks and shelves containing nothing but what appeared to be rifles, spears, and all manner of advanced gadgets that made their jaws fall open. Davis commented, "Man, those Ancients sure did love making doom weapons, huh? Digivices, Digieggs...next you'll tell me these are Digispears and digiguns!"

"Disintegration Blaster, actually," Tamer replied as he made his way past the shelves of weapons.

"I don't get it. Why aren't we using this?" Ken asked in a surprised matter of fact tone as he looked out upon these various weapons. Tamer started moving things around in search of what he needed and finally retrieved what looked like radios from the shelf, "Here we are!"

"Tamer!" Ken scolded, annoyed that he was being ignored. Tamer sighed, "No, we're not using any of these. If the weapons worked, that thing wouldn't be there. It would've been dead forever ago when the Guardians found it the first time. The Guardians threw an army at it and it ate them. If anything, showing up with these weapons might help it figure out what it's up against. Now here!"

He tossed the radios to them, both adults fumbling the devices in their hands before managing to get a good grip on it. Tamer scolded again, "Careful! Don't break it!"

"You're the one who threw it!" Ken pointed out. Tamer shrugged, "Semantics. Now let's find some communicators!"

* * *

Yamaki stared in disbelief as the birds started lining the windows of the building. All the scientists and engineers moved away in a panic, while security teams drew their weapons at the birds staring at them. To his astonishment, the digimon still in the room leapt forward to fight - the brown bunny thing, the flying pink seal, and the rest all leapt forward. Before anyone could do anything, Yamaki raised his hand, "Stop! Hold your fire!"

"Sir, they're gathering at the windows!" Riley said from behind him.

"Right now, those windows are the only things keeping them out and they're not attacking," he pointed out, "They're planning something. What are they up to?"

"Do you really think glass is going to keep them out!?" one of the monster makers stated. Yamaki raised an eyebrow at her, "You think a government agency would use regular glass on a window this high up? A government agency whose operatives are likely to get shot at?"

To prove his point, one of the birds slammed into the window with all its might. It bounced off the window and took a moment to correct itself in the air - as if trying to understand what happened. He smirked as the shatter resistant glass was holding. And it widened as the bird things started slamming into it. Again and again, each trying to break through the barrier keeping them out. His smile disappeared when he watched one finally hit the glass hard enough to make it crack - leaving a shatter pattern across its frame. Then another appeared.

And another.

"It's not bullet proof, sir. It's bullet resistant. I don't think it's designed to take this many hits in a row," one of the agents pointed out. Yamaki clicked his tongue angrily, "I noticed! Lock down the building!"

"Way ahead of you," Riley said from across the room, pulling on one of the alarms. Not a fire alarm, a security alarm. As soon as she hit it, metal panels lowered from above the windows to seal the creatures out. But that only angered them and made them strike the windows harder in protest. Yamaki finally felt his nerve give out and drew his own gun, praying that he wouldn't have to fire until the panels finally closed on the window.

Five seconds never felt longer as the glass continued to give under the constant attacks of the alien creatures. Just as the metallic panels closed, they watched a large golden insect appear from the side and slam into them at full force. The room was dark now, but they could still hear the muffled sounds of fighting just beyond the metal panels.

Then a loud bang echoed against the metal panel and the room filled with screams. It stopped shortly after and all that was left was silence. Whatever was going on out there, it seemed the creatures were still trying to get in. Then they heard banging from outside. Dolphin asked, "How long will those things hold?"

"No idea. That makes it all the more important to get the Juggernaut back online as quickly as possible," Yamaki holstered his gun and turned back to the rest of the staff, "Let's get back to work. Security personnel, inspect the perimeter and keep those things out. If an area is breached, we're sealing it off. IT and Engineering staff, get back to work on the machines. The sooner we get Juggernaut back up, the better shape we'll be in."

"Why were they attacking us?" Zhenyu's wife asked nervously. Before he could answer, there was a banging at the door beside them and the weapons were drawn again. Another loud banging came from the door and one of the civilian parents shouted, "Oh god, they're inside."

"Calm down. The whole's building locked down now. There's no way in or out. Whoever is on the other side of that door was already in the building," Yamaki barked, walking over to the door with a hand on his weapon. He really hoped he was right about this. He turned the handle and threw the door open to find Izumi and his wife there.

"IZUMI! What the hell are you two doing in the stairs? Security never said you were here," Yamaki practically shouted, surprised to see them just coming inside. Izumi wheeled his chair in while his wife took a seat on one of the chairs. Without missing a beat, the wheel chair bound scientist stated, "We were trying to warn you about those things when the whole building went dark. Looks like you initiated the lock down."

Yamaki nodded, making his way to their handicapped member, "How did you even get in the building? The whole place is locked down!"

Izumi pointed upstairs, "We came in the roof. It's hard to take stairs in a wheel chair. Are you okay Mimi?"

"I'm fine!" his wife said, waving him off despite struggling to catch her breath, "Don't worry about me! Get to the important part!"

Izumi nodded and went on, "That thing knows. The D-Reaper knows about the plan. At least, it knows you guys have a plan to stop it and it's trying to get in to stop you!"

"Oh that's just great. How did it find out?" Curly asked.

Izumi's wife answered, "It overheard us when we were talking with our daughter. She's out there right now fighting those things with our digimon."

"She is? Well screw that! I'm not sitting around in here while she's fighting out there! Come on Guardromon!" Kazu declared to his partner. He and the giant robot made their way to the door, just as he was grabbed by his father, "Oh no you don't! You're running out there just to go get yourself killed!"

"But dad-" Kazu began to protest, however Yamaki cut him off before he could say anymore, "Don't even bother, kid. The whole building is locked down. No one, and I mean no one, is getting in or out of this building."

"They got in!" Kazu protested.

"We were already in when the lockdown activated," Izumi responded.

"Then lift the lock down!" he complained, but Yamaki rolled his eyes, "Not when there's an army of those things trying to get into this building! Face it kid, you're stuck here with us. Now sit down before you hurt yourself."

* * *

Impmon had to admit that he was enjoying himself for the first time in a long time. Both Ai and Mako appeared to be on their best behavior. But he had been down this road before and it ended in disappointment. And he was not going to be another rope in their tug of war game. There was no way in hell he'd allow himself to be put in that position again. And yet, he had to admit that he was happy in a way he hadn't been in a long time.

It helped that they seemed to genuinely be trying to be on their best behavior now. Which was a nice difference from where things had been before. But it was soured by the images flying through his mind - the faces of the dying, the screams of those meeting their doom, the terror of knowing there was no hope of survival. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't convince himself these images were anything more than delusions.

They were so clear, so vibrant. They were memories, and he was glad it was in the past. And they put a lot of Ai and Mako's behaviors into context. It made his departure of their home seem petty and childish; as petty and childish as their fighting. But they were kids. That seemed to be the takeaway - they didn't know any better and they were learning.

"So where have you been all this time Impmon?" Ai asked, "You weren't cold, were you? Or scared? We were so worried."

"I was...fine," he answered sheepishly, quietly eating into the snacks. Mako looked out the window, "Mommy and daddy have been putting a lot of our stuff in the car. They say we need to leave the city. Everyone seems super scared about something."

"Yeah," Impmon answered, glancing out the window. So Ai and Mako were at least aware that something was going on. They were just too naive to understand what. It troubled him to know that even that one guy's little sister had a better grasp on the situation than either of them did. He took another bite of the cookie when he felt a strong unease - the kind of instinctual anxiety that became a sixth sense for danger. And no sooner than it went off, he felt the ground shake and everyone fall over.

"AAH!"

"EARTHQUAKE!"

Ai and Mako screamed and they heard the door slam open. It was their parents calling out to them, "Ai! Mako! Are you okay!"

"MOMMY!"

"DADDY!"

Both parents came around the corner and saw Impmon lying on the floor. The parents panicked at the sight of him, "Impmon!? What are you doing here?"

"Fuggedaboutit! What's goin' on out theres?" he asked, scrambling up to his feet. The parents cried out, "It's those things! They're out there! And there's more of them!"

"What?" Impmon had an idea of what they were talking about and was afraid of the answer. He should just run! Get as far away from this place as he could! But if he did that, then what would happen to Ai and Mako? Their parents couldn't protect them. Not from that. He clicked his tongue angrily at the realization of what he had to do. And he really wished he wasn't going out to do it.

He hurried past the parents, out the door and onto the familiar street where he watched a large, unfamiliar metal work digimon being swarmed by countless bird creatures. It was the wolf's thrashing on the cramped street causing all the shaking as it tried to hurt the bird creature. And without warning, the wings on its back kicked up like jet engines and it took off for the sky. Some of the bird creatures chased after it. But others hung back and scattered across the neighborhood. One in particular took a long look at Impmon before charging forward. Impmon leapt back and raised up a gloved hand, "Oh no you don't! BADABOOM!"

He chucked the fireball right at its face but the creature simply leapt out of harm's way before the blast could strike it. He threw another at it but the bird thing just moved too fast for him to get a head on it. He tried aiming ahead of it but it was too agile and quick for him. It was infuriating. But he couldn't cut and run now. He couldn't leave them to this thing.

"Impmon!" he heard Mako cry out behind him. Impmon cursed his luck and the timing of this horrible situation. Why did this have to happen to him? He cursed his luck and threw himself in front of the small boy, "What're ya doin, kid? Get back inside!"

"But you're out here!" he argued back. Impmon groaned, "I can tak-"

He felt his heart stop when he saw one of the bird creatures position itself behind Mako. The kid probably didn't even realize how much danger he was in. Impmon couldn't just let it happen though - without thinking he dashed towards Mako and conjured a fireball in his hand, "GET DOWN! BADABOOM!"

But the boy wouldn't put his head down. He continued to stare at Impmon in confusion. He really was just oblivious to his surroundings, wasn't he? The bird thing was just inches behind him and he didn't even seem to register it was there. Impmon called out, "Mako! For crying out loud! Get down!"

"MAKO!" Ai cried out in terror from the door. Of course the problems were just piling up. Ai had come out now, and she was shaking from the door frame at the sight of the door. Mako finally thought to move and turn around, coming face to face with the creature just behind him. There was only one thing to do now. He would have to throw the fireball in his hand straight at the bird. But to avoid Mako, he'd have to be between them.

Which meant a punch.

The things he did for these kids and they didn't even seem to appreciate it. Was this his punishment? His atonement for all he had done? He didn't like it. Even now, the images were flashing through his mind. The memories of that weird not human kid and his stupid idiot of a digimon partner. He couldn't let that happen for real. He wouldn't. Acting purely on reflex and instinct, Impmon leapt between Mako and the bird thing. They were so close that Impmon could practically see his own reflection in the massive eyes on its wings, "BADABOOM!"

He punched the ball of fire as hard as he could into the bird creature and the heat of the flames practically burned his hand. But the bird didn't react to it all, instead rising up into the air and taking him with it as if it were mocking him. He hated this. Was all his effort for nothing? Was there where his life was going to end? Getting killed trying to protect the annoying kids he'd abandoned because of a good hearted whim?

Not a bad way to go out after all he'd been through, huh? It was better than what he deserved. He knew that much.

"IMPMON!" Mako cried out in a panic.

"NO!" Ai shouted.

Raising their voices. That really was all they were good for, huh? Dang kids, He wished he had appreciated them more and spent more time with them. He really was a disappointment in that regard - forcing not one, not two, but three separate kids watch their digimon partner die. They really did care, huh?

They really did care.

That thought hung in Impmon's head longer than it should've. And it hurt. It filled him with pain that felt like it was going to explode from his chest, "IMPMON! WARP DIGIVOLVE TO! BEELZEMON!"

The bird sagged and dropped him. Or more accurately, it lowered him to the ground because it couldn't hold his weight while also trying to fly. However, his hand was now wrapped firmly around its neck and it flailed to get free. He wasn't about to give it the option though. Not when he saw the danger it posed to both Mako and Ai.

He threw it to the ground so hard that it flailed, then stepped on it with his foot to keep it there. Then he took a moment to take in what happened. He couldn't quite believe it. He'd digivolved. His partners had helped him digivolve. It was ironic - he'd scorned the others for relying on the humans to digivolve. But here he was digivolving because of the humans. And he could see the amazement on those kids eyes - Ai and Mako were wide eyed with disbelief, "Are you two okay?"

Both children nodded sheepishly, Mako's mouth hanging open, "IMpmon? Did you get all grown up?"

Of course, these kids had no idea was digivolution was. He smirked, "Something like that."

"Ai! Mako!" both parents called as they finally rushed outside to get their kids. And both adults stopped at the entrance in terror once they laid eyes on Beelzemon. Their father shouted, "Ai! Mako! Get away from that thing?"

"Mommy! Daddy! It's Impmon!" Ai tried explaining to them. That wasn't quite right. He was Beelzemon now. Why bother explaining? They were too young to understand and their parents were to freaked out to listen anyway. He waved at the two parents awkwardly, realizing how terrifying it must've been for them to see him standing there with the bird monster under foot. He pressed down hard as he could on it until he stopped moving and growled, "Don't you dare come near Ai and Mako again!"

He continued to press his foot down upon it, the bird continuing to flail and writhe as if it were in true pain. Finally, he pressed his foot down hard upon it and crushed it. The creature stopped moving, then burst into a cloud of data. They may have been really hard to put down, but it still died like any other digimon. Beelzemon normally enjoyed the thrill of the fight and wanted to savor his victory. But this was different. He didn't feel like savoring anything. He just felt relief - relief it was over. Relief that Ai and Mako were safe. At least, until he saw more of those bird things gathering around him. Each of them keeping their eyes on him.

"Ai. Mako. Get inside," Beelzemon said calmly, "Don't come out until I say so. Understand?"

"You're not leaving again, are you?" Ai asked sheepishly. They were scared. They should be. But their fear stemmed from the terror of losing him again - of finding he was gone. He nodded, "I have to. There are more of these things out there."

"Where are you going?" Mako asked him sheepishly. Beelzemon cocked his shotgun to get the empty shell out and answered, "To keep you guys safe."

It was a funny feeling to fight for someone else. But it felt so right. So this is what it was like to fight for someone else. It would've been sweet if Mako didn't remark, "I asked where you were going. Not why."

"Okay, you got me there," Beelzemon answered with a half smile. Then Mako did the stupidest thing. He ran out holding their digivice and a toy space gun in his hand, "If you're going to go out, then take this!"

"A toy?" Beelzemon raised an eyebrow in surprise. It made sense that Mako wanted to help, but even he had to understand that his toys weren't going to do much good. This wasn't a play game of pretend. It was real. Mako offered it up with both hands anyway, "It's not a toy! It's a super special weapon that can destroy anything! As long as you use it for good, it'll never fail and you'll kick all the bad guy butt!"

Use it for good? Beelzemon didn't really feel like anything but a bad guy. After what he did, there was no doubt about it. Still, he took the toy from Mako to indulge the boy. Besides, the sooner he took the toy, the faster the boy would hurry inside, "Thanks, kid. Now get inside."

"Okay! Come back safe, Impmon!" Mako said, running back to his little sister and parents. As soon as the door was close and locked, Beelzemon turned to face the birds and raised up his shotgun, "Okay you damn rats with wings! Come and get me!"

* * *

The images continued to flash by and Juri continued to identify them - because the alternative was to revisit those awful memories. And she didn't want to do that. She didn't want to dwell on the past. So she just continued listing off everything she saw as the images came by, "A car. A dog. A cat. A soldier. A gun? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know."

" _Juri, those are four items you have failed to identify_ ," her mechanical voice echoed, " _Please elaborate to why._ "

"I don't know what they are," she explained to the voice who seemed unconvinced, " _And?_ "

"I'm ten. How would I know what any of that is?" she added, hoping that it would get across to this thing that she had no idea what everything was. The voice echoed, " _Very well. We shall proceed. Please identify the following."_

"A car. A SUV. That's just a sakura tree. A bowl of ramen. A-" she paused as the next image came across her mind. Beelzemon. He was alive. He was here. In the Human World. In some neighborhood. And he was shooting. Was he hurting people? Were they in danger? Why was he doing this? He had killed Leomon before just to prove how strong he was. Was he going after humans now? Or was he after her? No. It couldn't be. It couldn't be true. Why here? Why now!? Why couldn't he just go away!?

" _Juri. Your mental state has become disturbed. Identify the last image. Assess. Assess._ "

Assess? No, there was no time for that. He had to be stopped. He had to be destroyed before he hurt her. Before he hurt anyone else. He'd fought the others and they could barely stop him. This thing was too dangerous.

" _Threat level assessed. Taking necessary counter measures. Protect the organic._ "

Organic? Did it mean her? Was this thing going to protect her? She just didn't understand any more. What did it want? What was it after? As the panic spread through her mind, she recalled images of death she'd seen - cartoon images of ghosts, skeletons wearing robes wielding scythes, spirits wearing funeral garb armed with sickles and katanas. Death. Beelzemon had to die! He needed to die! He needed to go away!

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** The thoughts of one scared little girl has set the D-Reaper's forces against Beelzemon. Will one digimon be able to stand his own ground? Can the Tamers, the Digidestined, and Hypnos carry out their plan before the D-Reaper stops them? And will Davis have enough food to feed this small army of digimon? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out in three weeks on April 17th at 8 PM CDT! But Leo, you say with your teeth clenched so hard that it scares my deceased dog out of his grave and into my lap in terror, that's another three week break! What's going on? How dare you deny me access to digimon fanfiction goodness! Well, truth be told I had a bit of a rough month - all personal family stuff that piled on one after another. Individually, they would be on the level of your grandfather died in a horrible car accident. All together, I kinda lost my passion for writing for a while. I still don't really have it back. Couple that with the fact that I am a healthcare worker in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis and my free time is disappearing quickly. So I'm sorry for the frequent delays. Anyway, I hope to have things back on track once this whole COVID thing dies down but I'm not sure when that will be. Anyway, that's all for now, let's see previews for the next chapter:

 _He could see a short figure on a rooftop not too far away, wearing what looked like a white hooded robe and waving at them with one arm reaching so high that he had to stand on his tippy-toes. Tamer. Cyberdramon set down beside him and Ryo leapt off his partner, "Tamer, what's so important? And where are the others? Ken and Davis? I thought you were with them?"_

" _Eh, more important stuff to deal with. You guys should've really gone mega by now," Tamer remarked, "Bio-merging or whatever it's called."_

" _Bio-merging? You're talking about the thing when Rika fused with Renamon or when Henry fused with his partner, right? What's that got to do with anything? Weren't we sticking to the plan?" Ryo raised an eyebrow, minding his distance from Tamer as he began circling with a familiar flair that fit his last face more than his present one. Tamer raised an eyebrow, "Ah, they'll be fine. I figured out your problems! You guys aren't in a Digital Field!"_


	42. Unexpected

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 42: Unexpected**

"How's our progress coming on the Juggernaut, team?" Yamaki asked, looking up from the machine parts he was helping to put back into place.

Zhenyu poked his head up from what he was doing and shouted, "Are you seriously asking that question? We've barely started and there's a lot of work to do before we can even think to test if it's working! This isn't going to be done quickly."

"Well, make it happen. Those things want in here and it'll be a slaughter if that weapons not ready before they do," Yamaki barked back at the scientist.

As he said that, there was another loud bang outside that shook the building, rattling loose items off desks and onto the floor. One unfortunate engineer had his tool box fall of the table he'd left it and fall on his helmet.

"How long do you think those blast doors will hold?" Dolphin asked nervously. Shibumi answered with his usual informative and completely uninspiring tone, "It doesn't matter. Right now, every second counts so let's focus on our task and leave the fighting to our friends outside."

"Your friends. We have no idea who those things are!" Curly pointed out.

"Those things are our partners! And right now, they're putting their lives on the line to buy us time! And it's not just them, our kids are out there," Izumi's wife scolded from across the room.

"Not my kid," Mister Matsuda grunted angrily.

"Let it go. Anger will do us no good right now," Guardromon mumbled.

"FUCK YOU!" Mister Matsuda made a point of growling while showing the digimon his middle finger.

"Don't shout at him! He's just trying to help!" Kazu yelled back.

"Trying to help? Kazu, Takato was your friend! If anyone else in this room is going to get how we feel, it should be you!" Mrs. Matsuda added.

This was getting out of hand and the last thing the team needed was needless bickeringYamaki put two fingers in his mouth and whistled as loud as he could to get their attention, "FOCUS! EVERY SECOND ARGUING IS A SECOND WASTED. AND WE DON'T KNOW HOW MANY SECONDS WE HAVE! SO LET'S USE THEM WISELY AND GET BACK TO WORK!"

With that everyone either quietly went back to what they were doing or went off in a corner to stay out of the way. Now it was back to what he was doing - helping repair some of the mechanical parts that were broken. He just hoped the blast shields help up long enough. Every moment that passed, another dent appeared in the metal and the building would shake. He just hoped everything worked.

* * *

Imperialdramon soared through the air of the Digital World, with Davis and Ken atop his back. They pointed their digivice at every digimon they passed and shouted the same message over and over, "Stay alive. We have a plan."

The mere sight of them seemed to rally the digimon, mega level fighters who went from faltering on the retreat to pushing forward on the attack. And as they soared through the Digital World, trying to scan as many of the digimon as they could, they eventually caught the attention of a familiar sight - Azulongmon, the sovereign who'd helped them fight off BlackWarGreymon so long ago. The dragon soared alongside them asking, "Digidestined. It's so good to see you after so long."

"We wish we could say the same," Ken answered quietly.

"Yeah, but no worries! Kari's brother has a plan!" Davis added excitedly.

"Who?" Azulongmon asked.

Ken sighed, "The Digimon Tamer. I should point out right now that it's a horrible plan and I'm not entirely sure it'll work."

Azulongmon blinked at him, "And what is his plan? We're hitting this thing with everything we have and nothing is working!"

"Sorry, we don't have the time to tell you," Ken answered, pointing his digivice at another digimon digimon they flew past to scan it. Then he pointed it at Azulongmon. The sovereign writhed a bit when the light hit him and his many eyes blinked in a daze, "What was that for? Were you just trying to blind me?"

"It's part of Tamer's plan," Davis explained apologetically, "Sorry we can't tell you more! Just try to stay alive a little longer! Hold on!"

"I…okay. Hurry, digidestined. We'll fight for as long as we can," Azulongmon answered, turning away from them to rejoin the fight. As he soared through the sky, pillars of light and blasts of lightning shot from his body and struck the red ocean beneath them. His attacks appeared to hurt the creature more than any of the attacks that had been thrown at it so far. But like all the other attacks, it wasn't long before any damage was undone. The most powerful digimon either of these men knew could barely hurt this thing. They needed to get back to their work - continuing to scan as many digimon as they could.

* * *

Rika had to admit it was a different feeling to be fighting along side her parents' partners. She swiped various cards through her digivice, trying to give Taomon the upgrades she would need to keep her on even footing. But without the power to be a mega like Rosemon or HerculesKabuterimon, she was just barely hanging on.

"Digimodify! Speed Boost Activate!"

"Talisman of Light!"

"Thorn Whip!"

"Arctic Blizzard!"

The three attacks scattered the bird creatures, reducing their number for a moment until more appeared to reinforce their numbers. It really was like fighting an unending tide. Still, they were the only things keeping her parents safe inside. And she wasn't going to surrender, no matter how many of them came. She and Taomon would fight back with everything they had.

"LOOK OUT!"

She turned around to see Hououmon and MetalGarurumon soar past over her head, his engines going at the full speed as Cyberdramon ripped off more of those bird creatures from him.

"Metal Wolf Claw!"

"Starlight Explosion!"

Both fired a barrage of missiles and fireballs from their bodies at the birds, punching another hole in the swarm that was quickly filled by more reinforcements. The creatures were wholeheartedly determined to over run this building at any cost it seemed. Thankfully, Hououmon and MetalGarurumon were still able to hold their own. But then another question came to mind? Where were her mom's fashion designer friend and her husband? Sora and Matt, if she remembered correctly. They were supposed to be with their partners.

A screech overhead caught her attention as the large golden bird Hououmon landed atop the building. The two Ishidas climbed off the giant digimon, before it took off again to fight the oncoming horde of birds, joining Rosemon, Taomon, and HerculesKabuterimon in the desperate defense. Sora rjoined her first and asked, "What the hell is going on? They were going all over the city before and now they're converging here on the Metropolitan Tower!"

"One of them overheard me telling my parents the plan and now they're all coming here to stop it," Rika admitted quietly. Matt raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Huh, never figured Izzy's kid would be the one to screw things up for us. I always figured it'd be someone else…like that dopey looking kid with the hat."

"Are you putting me on Kazu's level?" Rika asked with a hand on her hips.

In return, he just raised an eyebrow at her, "Do you think I'm intimidated by a twelve year old girl?"

"Focus!" Sora said, taking a moment to survey the situation, "Matt, can you talk to your friends in the GSDF and get them here?"

"They'd probably shoot at me first if they saw me ride in on MetalGarurumon," he countered quietly with crossed arms.

Sora groaned, "Then we'll just have to keep holding them back as long as we can!"

The large golden bird screeched and went to rejoin the fight. Rika couldn't help but marvel at the sight of so many megas at once, especially knowing they were the megas of the digidestined. The heroes from the books, tv show, and card game she'd been attracted to. If the world weren't at stake, she would call this a dream come true, "How long have you guys all had Mega level digimon? I don't remember the show or the books ending with all you guys getting Mega level digimon. It was just...Matt, Tai, Davis, and Ken, right?"

"You should know by now that my brother omitted lots of stuff from those books and didn't tell the whole story. At least, not the way it happened," Yamato stated matter of factly, "Speaking of...where the hell are they? I don't see Takeru or MagnaAngemon anywhere!"

"Don't forget that Ryo and Cyberdramon were with them. Same with the doctor and Gomamon! Or Kari, Gatomon, Henry, and Rapidmon. Where the hell are they?" Rika added.

"Maybe they're still trying to get to the others," Sora said, scanning the city for some sign of them. Her husband groaned, "Or worse."

"You really are a ball of sunshine, y'know that?" Rika stated, turning to his wife, "What exactly did you see in him?"

"He acts tough but he's a softie when he thinks no one is looking," she answered teasingly. Rika felt herself gag and something try to crawl its way out of her stomach, "Gross."

BOOM!

They turned their attention back towards the city to see large swathes of the bird creatures being destroyed with beams of blue light. They all turned to look but it was impossible to tell what it was from this far away. What they were certain of was that all the bird creatures were being blown apart as quickly as they could amass. And there was something in the middle of that flock - a lone figure that was blasting the birds away.

"Who is that?" Rika asked.

"I can't tell. They're too far away," Sora said, squinting her eyes as close as she could, "Hououmon!"

"Little busy at the moment," the bird roared over the battle going on all around her. She and MetalGarurumon soared overhead, trying their best to hold the oncoming swarm back as quickly as they could.

"I'll go," Taomon announced, drawing another talisman and throwing it full force at her enemies, "It's not like I'm able to do much good here anyway. I'll scout ahead and hurry back if things look bad."

"Be careful, Taomon," Rika called out to her partner. The fox priest gave her a wave and hurried off towards whatever was now drawing the bird creatures' attention away from them.

* * *

Hida slid the doors of his dojo open slightly to see more of those bird things waiting around outside. He took care to slide the door back shut so that it wouldn't be too loud - annoyed with how things had played out. He'd meant to go out and meet up with the others at the Tokyo Metropolitan Building. Then these things showed up and people were scared. He couldn't just ignore people in need and his sense of moral obligation kicked in. Instead of hurrying, he got as many people as he could to safety in his dojo.

Things were quiet now, save for the sound of fighting outside. But this wasn't the only problem before him. How was he supposed to protect them? Yes, he was a martial arts expert with knowledge of kendo, tai chi, aikido, karate, and tae kwon do. But that wasn't going to do him any good against whatever those monsters were outside. They didn't look like any digimon he had seen before and they certainly weren't acting like any digimon that had accidentally gotten lost in another world. Those digimon tended to act out violently from confusion or alarm. But these creatures seemed content to just sit back and watch the world in complete and utter silence. They were observing…learning…gathering information…possible strategizing.

That made it all the more important for him to get to the others at Hypnos. But how could he get there when there were lives at stake right in front of him? But there was no way to do this on his own. He would need help! But how was he supposed to signal for help with alerting those things to all the people hiding inside?

"RAPID FIRE!"

A blaze of gunfire caught the attention of all the bird creatures and drew them away from the front of the dojo. He slid the door open just a crack but couldn't quite see what was going. All he could make out was that the creatures were gone now. Maybe this was their chance. He slid the door open just a little further and one of the people hiding with him gasped, "What are you doing? They're going to find us!"

"They've all left. This could be our only chance to run," he explained. He scanned the outside more carefully to be sure they were gone until he noticed something moving in the bushes. A boy rushed out and bolted for the dojo door.

Henry, his Tai Chi student. And with him was…

"Armadillomon," he forced the door open and stepped out. Was it possible? Was this real? He hoped so. He didn't care how. He'd thought about this moment so many times that he wasn't sure he could handle if it wasn't. He waved to get their attention and gestured to them to come his way, "Over here! Quick!"

"Sensei!" Henry said, running over. Armadillomon followed after him, turning his head in surprise, "Who's that, Henry? I thought we were going to Cody!"

"Armadillomon! It's me," he said to his partner, the armadillomon stopping to look at him with a furrowed brow and a firm frown, "Pretty sure my pardner ain't got a mustache."

The insult cut deep and Hida had to muse at that. It was true, he didn't have a mustache the last time he'd seen his partner. It was also ironic, that a small piece of facial hair was enough to throw off the digimon, "You've never been the serious type, Armadillomon."

"That really is your partner, Armadillomon," Henry insisted to the yellow digimon who turned his head in disbelief. Armadillomon circled him, sniffing at his feet and occasionally stopping to get a good look at him. As he did, Henry went on, "Sensei, I don't have a lot of time. There's no way Rapidmon can keep them all away forever. We need to get out of here."

"I can't go. There are people hiding in my dojo and I'm not going to leave them," Hida explained to them.

Armadillomon's frown turned and he finally looked up, "Now that sounds like the partner I remember! Good to see ya, Cody."

"It's good to see you too, Armadillomon," Hida kneeled down to take his partner's raised hand. It was good to see him again, even if it was in these circumstances. They would have to catch up some other time. Now, they had to think of a way to hold this portion of the city and protect it from those birds. Armadillomon added, "Well if you're not going, I'm not going either."

"Sensei, are you sure?" Henry said, "We have a plan and we could use your help."

"The people here could use my help," he countered matter of factly. Armadillomon cheered, "Hard headed about always wanting to help people. You're definitely my Cody."

He wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not but he went on, "We can help by protecting the people in this area. Besides, every one of those things that comes here is one that's not attacking you there."

"That is the plan, actually," Henry said with a raised eyebrow, "Distract these things until every one else is ready with their part of the plan. Which we don't know how long that could be so really it's just sitting tight...wait, are you volunteering these people for danger!?"

"What?" Hida blinked, surprised at his student's accusation.

Henry waved it off and shook his head apologetically, "Sorry, sorry. I think Terriermon has been rubbing off on me. Still, it's funny that we're on the same page."

"Just do what comes natural and things work out, right?" he mused, realizing that the plan was a little too reminiscent of all the other plans - just sit tight and hang on. Henry shook his head, "Yeah, something like that. I need to get back to the others."

"Okay, be safe," he said. Henry nodded, waving before running off to rejoin his partner. Hida sighed, looking back at his dojo. It was a relief to know the others had a plan, even if he wasn't entirely aware of it. That was one problem dealt with. Now there was another problem: how to convince the people in his dojo that Armadillomon wasn't a danger to them and their safety?

* * *

Cyberdramon soared over the city, passing teams of soldiers firing at the bird creatures and crowds of people fleeing in a panic. It took everything in him to ignore his desire to fight the the creatures and instead focus on protecting Ryo and looking for the little white Calumon. He was the key to this whole operation after all. If they didn't find him, it was all going down hill from here. It was just a question of where the little digimon was.

And Ryo was frustrated with having to look for such a small critter in all this mess. After all, the little guy was probably scared out of his mind with all the chaos going on out there and it wasn't like finding him on a normal day when people weren't shooting at them was easy. It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack where the hay would hit you. It wasn't easy. And it would help, it really would, if all those soldiers would stop trying to shoot at him.

But what were they supposed to think? All they could see was a kid being carried off with a monster. It was hard to interpret that anyway that didn't include the thought of that kid in danger.

"Ryo! Ryo! Are you there?" Tamer's voice echoed from his digivice. Ryo looked at his digivice in surprise, examining it in his hands at the feature he didn't know it had, "It's a radio now?"

"What do you mean now? It's always been a radio," Tamer responded with the sardonic wit that Ryo was used to hearing him use. It was weird - the current Tamer was usually apologetic and polite. This was like talking to the Tamer when he first met him - sarcastic, a little abrasive but helpful overall. Still, Ryo wasn't in the mood for a conversation, "What do you want, Tamer? Shouldn't you be in the Digital World helping out the others?"

"Never mind them. We have a serious problem over here! Here are the coordinates! Hurry! Ruki's in trouble!" he said urgently. Ruki? She hated that name. The only reason he would use it would be to aggravate her. Or him. And it was working if that was his intention. He checked his digivice for the coordinates and tapped Cyberdramon on the head, "Come on, Cyberdramon. We need to go to-"

"-find Tamer, yeah. What's up with him anyway? What's he doing here?"

"I have no idea, but I'm going to deck him in a minute if I he doesn't have a good explanation for any of this," Ryo grunted, gesturing to the direction to his partner, "The signal leads that way to…that roof."

He could see a short figure on a rooftop not too far away, wearing what looked like a white hooded robe and waving at them with one arm reaching so high that he had to stand on his tippy-toes. Tamer. Cyberdramon set down beside him and Ryo leapt off his partner, "Tamer, what's so important? And where are the others? Ken and Davis? I thought you were with them in the Digital World?"

"Eh, more important stuff to deal with. You guys should've really gone mega by now," Tamer remarked in his usual manner of pacing as he talked, "Bio-merging or whatever it's called."

"Bio-merging? You're talking about the thing when Rika fused with Renamon or when Henry fused with his partner, right? What's that got to do with anything? Weren't we sticking to the plan?" Ryo raised an eyebrow, minding his distance from Tamer as he began circling with a familiar flair that fit his last face more than his present one.

Tamer threw it off, "Ah, they'll be fine. I figured out your problems! You guys aren't in a Digital Field!"

"Digital…what?" Ryo groaned exasperated burying his face in his hands, "Look, why did you call me here? What's going on with Rika? You said she was in danger!"

Tamer paused, looking back at him with that aggravating smile of his, "Oh, everyone's in danger! Every world everywhere's in danger somewhere. It's just a question of figuring out who you're gonna save and who's gonna win! This battle is playing out across infinite realities with infinite possible outcomes! Speaking of which!"

He raised up his digivice and a flash of light seemed to tear open a floating window in front of them, through which they could see what looked like their city. Except this version of the city was over run by the D-Reaper and the screams of the dying could be heard echoing from in the distance. And for the briefest of moments, he saw Rika. Rika running for her life from the remaining D-Reaper creatures. And as quickly as she ran past the window, the D-reaper bird things were upon her - ripping her apart as their mechanical voice droned, "Scanning!"

"No!" she screamed.

"Acquiring Information!"

"Get off me!" She cried out just as blood splashed past the screen.

"RIKA!" he cried out - half panic and half anger as he watched her body be spread apart across different sections of the roof. Tamer pressed another button on his digivice and the window to the other world vanished, "Relax, lover boy! That's another reality. Not this one. Your girlfriend's alive and well! I think. Maybe?"

"TAMER!" Ryo was on the boy, grabbing him by his stupid white robe and pulling him so close that their noses were practically touching, "THAT WAS STILL RIKA!"

"Well there's no point crying about it," Tamer swatted his hands away, "That Ruki's dead. Your Ruki…our Ruki?"

Something about that phrasing made Ryo particularly angry, but he was snapped from his anger when he heard Cyberdramon start growling angrily. He needed to maintain control, otherwise Cyberdramon would lash out and get loose upon the city. And he wasn't sure which would be worse: the D-Reaper or a rampaging Cyberdramon. Tamer shook his head, "The Ruki in _this_ world is still alive and well. She's out…there…somewhere."

BOOM!

Ryo turned his head to see a beam of light shooting at the heart of the swarm of bird creatures. Something or someone was actually managing to pushing these things back. Tamer flicked a finger across the back of his head and added, "Don't worry, Ruki's not over there. Not yet anyway."

What was he pulling? And why was he saying it that way? She hated that name! Was he trying to piss her off when she wasn't even here? Or was he trying to piss him off to get a rise out of him? If that was the plan, it was working all too well. His fists tightened and he demanded, "Tamer! Why did you call us here? And what the hell is wrong with you!? I thought you said you were trying to be different! What the hell was different about that?"

Tamer's smile widened in a way that made him sick, "Quit interrupting and I'll tell you. Now, the reason your bio merging isn't working is because you're not in the Digital World anymore. Different rules apply! But we can fix that! We just need to expand the Digital Field! Good news: it'll get you guys to mega. Bad news: I'm going to fry any computer you get too close to so I'd suggest staying away from the Hypnos Building!"

He raised up his digivice like he was about to use it to do something, only to then snap his fingers and bathe the world around them in yet another display of light. Once it passed, Tamer's wicked smile remained, "There we go! Now you should be all good to save Ruki!"

Ryo had enough and decked Tamer as hard as he could across the face. He wasn't sure what the hell was going on but he was sure of one thing right now. Tamer was acting like an ass - so either this wasn't Tamer or Tamer was back to his old ways. Either way, he wanted to punch the guy in the face. Tamer fell flat on his face and massaged his cheek, "Ow! What the hell Joe?"

"Who the hell is Joe? My name is Ryo!" he snapped. Tamer raised an eyebrow, his look unimpressed by Ryo's punch as he pushed himself upwards, "Oopsie. Looks like I slipped. Charade is up I suppose."

Ryo was so past being in the mood for one of Tamer's games, and raised his fist to strike him again. However, Tamer caught his fist mid punch and stood himself back up, "Everyone only gets one, Joe."

"Ryo!" he repeated.

"I don't care," Tamer shook his head, scratching at his chin with his fingers so deep that it looked like he was beginning to peel the skin off. It was actually disgusting to watch, his nails going deeper and deeper into his skin as he peeled more of his face off. The sound it made when it did was sickening and Ryo took a step back in disgust. And Tamer looked up and the face he saw was…not what he expected.

He expected some bloody skull to be staring back. To be fair, it would probably be the least insane thing he'd seen Tamer do. But instead, what he saw was a completely different face staring back. Ryo was perplexed, "What? You change your face again? Tell me that's not how you do it."

"Oh wow, you really are slow," he responded, dropping the face he'd just peeled off and going over to flick him across the nose, "What does that idiot see in you lesser life forms? He goes through all that trouble to save you and all you do is be stupid. It's like you're all screaming 'Kill me! Kill me!'. Bringing water to a person who insists on dying of thirst is less trouble than this. What's the point? I'll never understand what he's thinking."

Ryo was now at least beginning to follow this a little better, "Okay, I think I get it. You're not Tamer. But then who are you and why are you wearing Guardian robes?"

"Guardian robes? Is that what he's calling it now? Digital Agents! Agents! Not Ancient! Not Precursor! Not Fore-bearer! Not Guardian! Agent!" the not-Tamer stated angrily, waving his hands in the air as he spoke. Somehow, this kid was more annoying than Tamer had ever been. And Ryo was ready to deck him again if it weren't for the fact he still had his fist in his hand. He pulled his fist out of his grip and stated, "That doesn't really answer my question."

The boy finally seemed to notice he was present and his tone shifted to boredom, "Hm? Oh, right. You're still here. Hello! Name's The Trickster. If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm an Agent like Tamer. Only I'm not really invested in maintaining any kind of order. I'm just in this for the laughs and the giggles. And if I can screw with people's lives while I'm at it then all the better!"

"You're...like Tamer," Ryo repeated stupidly.

"Look! It's learned to mimic language!" Trickster mocked him, snapping his fingers in his face to get his attention. Ryo swatted his hand away and got his own hand slapped back in response, "Now pay attention because I'm not repeating! You can biomerge now! Congratulations! Go tell your friends Ruki and not-Ruki so you can all have a nice big party! Bad news! You can't go near computers without breaking them so try to avoid the hypnosis people! Or hypnotize or whatever pretentious name they're using. Other bad news! You need a strong emotional response to get the blood flowing in that regard so let's get the blood flowing and trigger some emotions!"

He took a step back and reached into his robes to produce a little scared Calumon pleading and begging to be let go, "What's happening? Where am I!? WHAT IS THIS PLACE!? HELP ME!"

Ryo tried to jump at him to get the little digimon but The Trickster side stepped him and stood along the edge of the rooftop, "Oh dear. Looks like this thing is very important to you."

"Give him back!" Ryo snapped, making the Trickster cackle.

The Trickster waved a finger at him like he were a misbehaving child and remarked, "It's just a shame what I'm about to do next."

"Help! Please let me go! I'm sorry for whatever I did! Please just let me go!" Calumon pleaded at the top of his voice. Now it was Cyberdramon's turn to lunge forward, but Ryo threw his arm out, "Cyberdramon! Don't! He's going to hurt Calumon!"

* * *

" _Juri, cease your traumatic state and continue to identify objects!_ " the mechanical voice droned on. It was her own voice again, used by this thing to control her. Manipulate her. Force her to do what it wanted, "Identify!"

All she could think about…all she could focus on was Beelzemon killing Leomon. How it had been Tamerkato who enticed him to do it. How all this was probably her own fault for being a horrible partner. She could feel this thing trying to block these thoughts out with more images of things it was finding…but every image, every thought kept coming back to one thing: Beelzemon.

Car.

Beelzemon.

Soldier.

Beelzemon!

Gun.

BEELZEMON!

Roof.

BeElZeMoN!

Calumon.

Calumon? The sight of him calmed her for a moment - what was he doing? No, who was holding him? They were supposed to save Calumon. That was why they went to the Digital World. But who had him and why was he dangling Calumon over a roof? He needed to be saved! He needed to be protected! He was the Catalyst, the source of strength that gave digimon the power to digivolve. If anything happened to him, it was game over for everyone else. She had to save him. To protect him!

" _Subject identified as Calumon. Digital Lifeform acknowledged. Power source. Acquiring target!"_

"Wait...what? Uh oh," was all Juri could manage to say as she realized she might have just set this thing after Calumon.

* * *

"Hurt the Catalyst? Well now I know you're not paying attention," the Trickster remarked, feigning being insulted while he still had that stupid evil smile on his face, "This thing is the source of digivolution! Why would I hurt it? That'd be stupid. Y'think I'd just sully the memory of the Agents like that? No, don't be stupid! I'm not going to hurt him!"

"Then what are you doing?" Ryo demanded angrily, Cyberdramon roaring with his growing anger. The Trickster laughed, "Oh me? I'm doing this!"

He tossed Calumon into the air and the digimon promptly fell to the ground. From several stories up. He may not be trying to hurt him but he wasn't above throwing the digimon to his death apparently.

"NO!" Ryo cried out, leaping over the edge of the roof and reaching his hand out to the falling digimon. Then he heard his partner calling out from behind him, "RYO!"

He looked back up and could see Cyberdramon coming after him. It was a surprise to him. In all the time he'd been partnered with the digimon - it was strange to see him coming to his rescue. Normally, he had to restrain his partner from mauling someone or something. Not that it was unwelcome. It was just not what he was used to. Still, he had to save Calumon and he reached his arm out to the digimon, "Almost!"

Cyberdramon grabbed his arm, "Ryo! What are you doing!?"

"We need to save Calumon!" Ryo shouted.

"HE CAN FLY!" Cyberdramon countered. As soon as he said that, he saw the little digimon's eyes widen in surprise and his ears expand out like wings - slowing his descent so that he glided slowly downward. Ryo's mouth fell open, "You could do that the entire time!?"

"I forgot!" Calumon said innocently enough, his screams of terror turning to embarrassment as they reached the street below safely. For a moment, they stopped to catch their breath until one of the bird things appeared from nowhere and grabbed Calumon - flying away towards the D-Reaper. The little digimon started screaming again, this time for real as he tried to break free of the bird thing's hold on him. Cybderamon immediately gave chase, spreading his wings so that he could fly as fast as his body could carry him after the bird.

For his part Ryo, tried reaching for his deck to start buffing his partner but the speed they were going made the cards scatter from his hands. He tried to grab them but they were gone with the wind now - he'd just lost their one advantage. He looked ahead again after the bird thing holding Calumon. His partner was on his own now and he was just dead weight. Sure he could use the digivice, but what good was that when he wasn't a strong fighter? And these things - the birds were beginning to swarm around them to stop the pursuit. They couldn't afford to be stopped now though - not when Calumon was right there. They had to save the little digimon! They had to!

"GRAGH!"

The bird things were slamming themselves into Cyberdramon now to slow down his pursuit. And Cyberdramon was doing everything he could to protect his partner. Ryo hated that. He didn't like being useless. More than that, he never thought he'd see the day where he gave a crap about his partner's well being. He wished he could help. He just…

"Cyberdramon! Biomerge to!"

Ryo felt a strange sensation bathe him in warmth and a soft glow of light over take his vision. Then he felt a strange compulsion to cry out, "JUSTIMON!"

Without really knowing why, he also felt a strong desire to punch and beat as many of these bird things out of his way as possible - hitting as many of them back as he could, "BACK OFF! OUT OF MY WAY! CALUMON!"

"HELP ME!" the little digimon cried out at the top of his lungs. He had to try harder to get as many of these things out of his way as possible to save Calumon! He was so close. He could almost reach the digimon when a blast of light cut off his path to the bird thing holding Calumon.

"OUTTA MY WAY! THIS CITY IS MY TURF!"

He looked off to the side to see Beelzemon making his way through the streets with his shotgun in one hand and was looked like a cannon in the other. He pointed it upwards and fired a beam of light straight at more of the birds, "BEAT IT YOU RATS WITH WINGS!"

What was he doing here? _You got me_. Whose voice was that? _It's mine!_ Ryo had never been more confused in his life, unsure why there was a voice echoing in his head that wasn't his own. _You think about that girl with the pineapple hair a lot. Just confess already! You know she probably likes you too._

"Cyberdramon?" he asked no one in particular only to hear the voice confirm it. Unfortunately, Beelzemon heard him too and was looking up at him, "What are you supposed to be? Another one of those things? Well I got something just for you!"

"Wait! Don't shoot! It's me!" he called out to Beelzemon. Beelzemon paused, then pulled the trigger anyway. The beam of light that shout out of the cannon flew straight at him, missing him by a narrow inch. Ryo looked over his shoulder to see a bunch of the bird creatures scattering behind him. How had he missed that?

No time to focus on that. He descended to join Beelzemon, "Thanks for not shooting at me."

"Don't celebrate yet," the digimon raised the cannon so that he found himself looking down the barrel at it, "Who are you and why shouldn't I just pull the trigger?"

 _Great plan you had there Ryo, now we're in serious trouble._ Ryo threw up his hands and tried to explain, "It's me...Ryo."

"Who?"

"We...fought in the Digital World? My partner is...was...Cyberdramon!" he explained. Beelzemon turned his head, "You're going to have to run all of that by me because I have no idea what you're talking about. And keep it quick. These things are gathering around."

Ryo gulped, realizing time was off the essence with these things gathering around quickly. And then he remembered that Calumon was in danger. But there was no rescuing him now that they were cut off from him.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** The D-Reaper has Calumon and continues to target Beelzemon. Meanwhile, the others are doing everything they can to get the plan ready. What will the D-Reaper do once it figures out how to use Calumon's power? Can the heroes stand a chance against it? What awaits them next? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out in three weeks on Friday, May 8th at 8 PM CDT. I know, I know. Another three week delay and I apologize for that. But the job she is busy as COVID-19 continues to be a bane upon my workplace as more people get sick and I continue to busier at work than I normally am. I apologize for this. Anyway, that's all for now so let's take a look at previous for the next chapter!

 _Suddenly, a blast of light blew away a hole in the thinning swarm and Beelzemon leapt through it wielding his shotgun in one and his cannon in the other, "HAHA! You see that? You schmucks got nothin' on me!"_

" _Beelzemon!?" Rika gasped._

" _You know this clown?" Ishida asked her. She pointed at him, "That's the guy who kidnapped Calumon in the first place."_

 _Beelzemon clicked his tongue, "Hey, I'm not here for small talk. I'm here for you and...um...the green one. What's the name?"_

" _Over my dead body," Rika hissed at him, wishing that Taomon was here right now._


	43. Upgrade in Progress

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 43: Upgrade In Progress**

The images continued to flash through Juri's mind with such speed and intensity that it felt like her head was going to split apart. But all she could focus on were three things: Calumon, Beelzemon, and Leomon's death. Calumon needed rescuing, and Beelzemon needed to be punished for what he did to Leomon. She could tell this thing, the one using her voice, was getting frustrated. She didn't care. All she could focus on was revenge and anger.

"AAAAAAAHHHH!"

She was finally pulled from her thoughts by a little digimon screaming at the top of his lungs as he appeared beside her. Calumon! She wanted to call out to him but she couldn't - she had no control over her body, let alone her voice. She couldn't even give the little digimon a hug even though that seemed to be what he desperately wanted and needed. Then he took note of her, "Juri? Juri! Are you okay!? Please be okay! I was trying to run away and then this weird kid who looked like Takato grabbed me but it turned out it was some kid wearing Takato's face like a mask and then he threw me off a roof and I forgot how to fly and then a bird kidnapped me and I'm scared!"

He wailed at the top of his lungs - clearly horrified out of his mind and barely able to think clearly. He threw himself on to her in a hug, seeking some measure of comfort. She wasn't able to hug him back, but the sensation of his touch gave her some comfort that she had desperately wanted since all of this started. She could forget about the hundred or so images flying past her head, or her own voice screaming at her, " _How is the energy source used? Is it extracted? Is it activated? Answer Juri! ANSWER!"_

"I don't know, I don't know," she murmured quietly, trying to ignore the voice in her head. Calumon patted her calmly, "Juri! What's wrong? Who are you talking to?"

Then she felt it. A pain seizing through her body and taking control of her. And the voice spoke again, " _You were brought here for a purpose little one. Together, we will accomplish great things_."

The horrified look on Calumon's eyes were enough to make Juri wish she were stronger. To make her wish she could fight back more against the thing in control over her body. But she was too weak. She wasn't strong enough - no matter how desperately she wanted to be stronger. To of some use.

Then she saw her hands begin to move of their own accord, tracing a pattern across Calumon's head. Juri froze, "What are you doing!?"

" _Memories were scanned - memories regarding the power source. We are activating the power source now. We will evolve. We will become supreme,_ " her voice said back to her. Calumon calmed as the pattern was traced across his forehead, until finally she witnessed the digimon go limp in her hands. Then light erupted from the symbol atop his forehead and the voice spoke again, " _Awaken! Upgrade in Progress!_ "

* * *

Beelzemon stood there and listened intently to everything the weird digimon with the flowing red scarf had to say. It was a little hard to believe - that he had merged with his partner to reach this whole new level of digivolution. To be fair, it was kind of stretch to believe that humans and digimon could become one physical being. Then again, Mako's toy gun had turned into a freaking canon growing out of his arm so what did he know about this stuff?

"Beelzemon!" Taomon called his name. He looked up from what he was doing to see the fox priest flying towards them, landing beside them. She asked, "Was that you firing all those blasts a moment ago?"

"Damn straight," he smiled smugly, making a point to flash his gun at her. She didn't seem as impressed though and looked back towards Justimon, "Who are you?"

"It's me…well, us. Ryo and Cyberdramon! Only we're Justimon now," he answered. If Taomon was able to smile, he didn't see but she did greet him warmly, "I'm glad you finally managed to do bio-merge but…how?"

"Ugh, I just finished explaining," he moaned, "Okay, I'll explain again quickly."

The fox digimon nodding along quietly to every word the idiot said like it made some kind of sense. Once Justimon was done, Taomon announced, "You realize that this means we can finally reach our mega forms! Like MegaGargomon and Sakuyamon! I have to tell Rika!"

"Wait," Justimon grabbed her before she could get too far, "If what that Trickster guy said is right, then we can't go anywhere near the others or we'll fry the computers. And then the whole plan will fall apart! We have to keep our distance!"

"But Rika is already there. So what does it matter?" Taomon countered.

"I still don't want to risk it. I don't know what The Trickster's game is but the fact is he threw Calumon off the roof so those bird things could get to him!" Justimon explained, "And if he's even the slightest bit less trustworthy than the Tamer, then who knows how much of what he's saying isn't to manipulate us! Heck, maybe he's counting on the fact that we'll ignore him and go straight back there! Or we listen to him and the others get killed because we're not there to defend them!"

"We don't have time to argue about this! Those things are swarming the others right now and I don't know how much longer they can be held off!" Taomon argued back.

Beelzemon just rolled his eyes and looked back at the building the bird creatures were swarming. He didn't really care for all the talking at this moment and just wanted to get the ball rolling. And that was exactly what he intended to do, "You twos can argue 'bout this all day for all I care! I'm going' there and getting them kids myself if I hafta!"

"Wait!" they tried to say but he was already off, leaping onto the nearest rooftop and shooting at the bird creatures as he went, "Take this! And this! Haha! You want some too? How about you!? I got plenty more where that came from! Eat this! And this! HAHAHA!"

"Beelzemon! Wait!" Taomon called after the digimon. He glanced back once just to see what had them so worked up and saw both her and Justimon following just behind. And they had more of those bird things after them, "WHAT!?"

"Weren't you listening? They're swarming the tower! You'll never get through those numbers on your own!" Taomon shouted at him.

He grunted, "Weren't you freaking looking? I can blow these things away no problem! WATCH!"

He pointed his gun at the birds behind them fired again another blast of energy at them, watching as numerous bird things were obliterated before their very eyes. He punched the air, "SEE THAT!? I ain't got nothing to be afraid of!"

"Watch out!" Taomon pointed ahead of them. He looked ahead in time to see a blade coming his way that he had to use his gun to block. The metal blade bounced off his gun and he brought his free hand to bare against the attacker - it looked like someone wearing a robe with a mask over the face, with blades and scythes for hands and feet. And it dangled in the air like a marionette dangling by invisible strings. His fist impacted the mask so hard that he felt something break and the marionette creature tumbled backwards in the air until it corrected itself. Then it attacked again, using its bladed limbs to swing and stab at him. Beelzemon brought up his weapon again to shield himself, trying to predict the crazy things attacks before breaking away in a sprint.

That didn't stop it from giving chase, and he was awed by how quickly the thing could move and give chase after him, "What is thing!?"

"I've never seen one before," Taomon stated.

"Maybe it's the D-Reaper itself?" Justimon suggested, coming from behind to try and punch it. He missed as it dodged out of the way and he crashed into a roll on the roof top, "Like maybe this is it's true form? The real thing?"

Taomon followed along with his reasoning, "So if we kill this thing, we stop all of this? It's worth a shot but it's easier said that done."

Justimon followed it as it raced around them quickly, "It's not going to be enough to move faster than this thing. We'll need to box it in - give it nowhere to go so that it loses the speed advantage!"

"And how do we box in something that can move faster than us?" Beelzemon grumbled trying to follow the humans' sense of logic. It was stupid though. They always overthought everything and shooting them was just as good as anything else, "All I need is one good hit to take it out!"

He aimed down the sights of his cannon, trying to stay just ahead of the creature before firing. The beam of light shot straight out of the canon but the masked pendulum-footed attacker dodged out of the way of the blast, "You've gotta be kidding me! That was a sure hit!"

"We need to work together, Beelzemon!" Taomon said again.

"Fine, what do I need to do?" Beelzemon grumbled angrily, seeing that his usual tactics were not going to work here. He looked at Taomon expectantly and was annoyed to see her looking to Justimon. Justimon pointed at Beelzemon, "It's focusing on you! So go that way!"

"Why!? AND IT CAN HEAR YOU!" Beelzemon had to point out to them just as the thing attacked again. He moved out of the way of its blade and looked to the others for some kind of help. Instead, Justimon shouted again, "JUST RUN!"

"FINE!" Beelzemon snapped, turning on his heels and running from the thing. He didn't like the idea of turning like a coward and running. He wanted to have faith that they had some kind of plan, that maybe whatever he was thinking would stop it. But how was he supposed to know the plan when they were so far away without that thing finding it out? Then again, things usually worked out for them so why not have a little trust?

He sighed and raced to the edge, leaping off towards the next roof and landing so hard that he felt it crack under his feet. Then he felt something hit the back of his head and looked back to see the thing had crashed into him. It had given chase but didn't plan for him to stop so suddenly, and it had bumped into him and tumbled back in the air so that it had to steady itself between the two buildings.

Then he heard Taomon cry out, "NOW! Talisman of Light!"

"Justice Burst!" Justimon's right arm transformed into a cannon that fired off electrical orbs at the creature. Both attacks struck the creature in the back and it twitched in the air as the current ran through its body. But it still held on. It was fighting back against their attacks.

And that really pissed Beelzemon off enough to ready his gun and fire, "JUST DIE ALREADY!"

He got it straight between the eyes and the creature twitched in the air wildly before going limp and falling to the ground several stories below. Through its death throes, he swore he could hear it say, "Upgrade in progress."

Beelzemon grunted his approval and looked back up at the other two digimon with him, "He hits hard and fast but he goes down a lot easier than those birds."

Taomon nodded dismissively and sighed, "Yes, yes, we're all relieved it's over. Now go get our partners here as soon as you can! The sooner Rika, Henry, and Rapidmon are here. The sooner we can-"

"Uh, guys," Justimon interrupted, gesturing to the distance where a new swarm could be seen emerging from the red mass in the distance. Beelzemon squinted to get a better look and realized he was looking at a whole swarm of those pendulum footed creatures coming their way. He swore under his breath and complained, "You've gotta be kidding."

"So, not to be a bummer, what do you suppose upgrade in progress meant?" Justimon asked. Taomon raised up her brush, "That we won't last long against these creatures. Beelzemon! HURRY!"

"Got it, tuts. You sit tight!" Beelzemon turned and hurried towards the towers in the distance, surprised to find himself running straight into danger like this.

* * *

Davis and Ken continued to encircle the Digital World, using their digivices to scan every single Digital life form they came across. As they worked, he picked up the communicator, "Tamer! How much more do we have to do?"

"Honestly? No idea. Just keep scanning every digimon you can. I'll activate things here once we have the Juggernaut ready to fire," he answered back, "I'm about to head back to your world anyway. I need Izzy's laptop and I want to make sure the others are doing fine."

"What? Tamer!? What are you thinking?" Ken replied, wondering just how well the others were holding up on their own. He knew his wife would be okay, and Yamato would definitely be able to hold her own just a little bit better than the others. Plus they had the combined might of all their friends there to help hold them off! But the plan was to distract the monster by pulling its attention elsewhere not play defense as it attacked the Hypnos Program.

"Don't worry. Everything will be ," Tamer said over the communicator.

"Tamer, what the hell are you doing?" Ken asked more worriedly.

"It's a gamble, but I'm going to buy us some time. Hate me later," his voice said over the communicator.

Now Ken was agitated. He knew what gambles meant to him and he didn't want to lose anyone else in his life, "Tamer!"

No response.

"TAMER!?"

No response. He cursed and pocketed the communicator. He was going to do something to get his wife killed. He just knew it. Then he felt a punch on the shoulder. It surprised him for a moment and he turned his head back to Davis offering a half smile, "Ken! They'll be fine! Everything will be fine."

Ken wasn't as convinced. Then again, he also knew what his personal intervention had done before when it came to these kinds of things and relented, "I really hope you're right."

He said that but he couldn't fight the horrifying feeling in the pit of his stomach that things were not going to be fine. He'd seen enough of Tamer's antics to know that people had a habit of dying any time he got involved. And he wouldn't stand for the idea of losing his family - not the way he lost his brother.

* * *

Rika watched Hououmon, MetalGarurumon, Rosemon, and HerculesKabuterimon continue to beat back as many of the bird things as they could. And a miracle seemed to happen - the swarm was actually decreasing in size with every one of the creatures they defeated. It would only be a matter of time before things were under control and they could go back on the offensive. They just had to keep thinning the ranks a little more.

Suddenly, a blast of light blew away a hole in the thinning swarm and Beelzemon leapt through it wielding his shotgun in one and his cannon in the other, "HAHA! You see that? You schmucks got nothin' on me!"

"Beelzemon!?" Rika gasped, not expecting him of all people to suddenly appear. Why was he even here?

"You know this clown?" Ishida asked her.

She pointed at him, "That's the guy who kidnapped Calumon in the first place."

Beelzemon clicked his tongue, "Hey, I'm not here for small talk. I'm here for you and...um...the green rabbit one. What's the name?"

"Over my dead body," Rika hissed at him, wishing that Taomon was here right now. Why did he have to be here now? Then she recalled the light that blew away all of the bird creatures. That was the same light Taomon had run towards. Her mind went through all the terrible things he could've done and she didn't like any one of them. Not when she knew what he did to Leomon in the Digital World.

Ishida and his wife stepped in front of her. Sora pushed her behind them while Ishida drew a handgun from his pocket, "Back up freak! I don't want to but I'll shoot you dead if you get anywhere near Mimi's girl!"

"It's kind of important that you do if you want to stop that thing," he thumbed over towards the growing red mass in the distance and the swarm of birds.

Rika didn't like the sound of that or where this was going, "What? So you're working for that thing now?"

He raised an eyebrow, "You think…what? No! I just need to take ya to the fox so you twos can-"

"Rapid Fire!"

He was interrupted by a hail of fire from Rapidmon that made the mega level dodge further away. Rapidmon descended between them and Henry leapt off his back to rejoin them, "Guys! What's Beelzemon doing here?"

Beelzemon roared at the top of his lungs, lowering his guns to the ground in what must've been an attempt to show he had no ill intent, "Look! We ain't got time for this! There's a new one of those things swarming your friends and I need to get you guys to them so you can all fight back!"

"Yeah, right. And if that's true, why aren't they here?" Rika demanded of him. He groaned, "Oh for the love of-I don't know. Somethin' 'bout a clown or a joker and not goin' near computers! I wasn't paying attention! Now can we please get goin' before those new things get here? Coz they're a lot tougher than those bird things and-"

"Target Acquired," a strange mechanical voice echoed out.

"OH FOR THE LOVE OF-" Beelzemon snatched up his weapons and turned to face their new attacker - a large floating puppet with what looked like scythes for its appendages. As soon as it arrived, Beelzemon fired upon it, "HOW MANY OF YOU ARE THERE!? JUST DIE ALREADY!"

It dodged out of the way of both shots and moved in for the attack, swinging its many appendages like blades. Beelzemon raised up his larger gun to block the blades and tried to steady his shotgun to fire it at point blank range. Once again, the thing moved so quickly that the shot didn't connect and it went to strike from behind - hitting the digimon square in the back. Beelzemon let out a cry of pain - thrown forward by the impact with a deep gash in the center of the cut.

"HEY!" Rapidmon charged forward to aid Beelzemon, but the creature leapt away to get out the way of the attack before they could connect, so all he ended doing was tackling Beelzemon off the roof.

"YOU STUPID DUMBA-" Beelzemon cried out until he was too far away for Rika to accurately make out what he was saying.

"Uh-oh. SORRY! SORRY!" Rapidmon apologized profusely and soared off the roof after Beelzemon, leaving the rest of them at the mercy of the flying reaper creature.

"New targets acquired. Prioritizing threats. ATTACK!" the creature said with its low, mechanical drone.

"GET DOWN!" Ishida shouted at the top of his lungs, firing his gun at the creature as it charged forward. Several loud bangs echoed out as each shot flew at the pendulum footed monster, only for the bullets to ricochet away. Realizing the futility of using his gun, Ishida holstered it and took up his knife to protect himself, "Stay behind me!"

"Matt!" Sora gasped.

"Are you crazy? That thing has knives for hands and feet!" Henry stated, not that it needed pointing out as the blades swung through the air. Still, that didn't stop Ishida from trying to anticipate its movements so that he could duck under the blade and jab it with an upper cut. But just as it was about to strike and Ishida was ready to counter, a bright flash of light blinded them all.

They heard a loud yelp that was unmistakable, "Hey guys, is everyone...oh crap! Guilmon! DUCK!"

Once the light cleared, the creature was nowhere to be found, and Tamerkato was on the ground on top of Guilmon. The little red dinosaur squirmed, "Get off! I don't feel good and you're heavy! I think I'm going to barf!"

After a moment, Tamerkato's head perked up to around, "Is everyone alright? Geez, what was that about? Who was that? Actually, _what_ was that? And why the hell was it attacking me!?"

"Tamer?" Sora choked out.

"Goggle head? What are you doing here!?" Rika blurted out in surprise.

"I'm here to get your dad's laptop. What was that thing?"

"Forget that! Where'd it go?" Sora asked, still trying to keep both Rika and Henry behind her as if she would be able to do anything if it tried to attack her. Tamerkato shrugged, "It fell into the gate I opened to get here just as it was closing. It's probably caught in the space between worlds. I wouldn't worry about it. By now, its gestalt conscious is probably disintegrating into nothing. Matter can only exist in the void for so long anyway."

"Wait, what?" Ishida repeated, "AND YOU DIDN'T TELL US THAT WHILE WE WERE USING THEM TO GO BETWEEN WORLDS?"

"See, this is why I didn't tell you guys these things. You all freak out! At least, I think that's why I did it. Now, seriously. Is no one going to tell me what that grim reaper puppet looking thing was? Because I would seriously like an explanation for it," Tamerkato grunted in frustration, gesturing at where it had been moments ago.

Rika ignored that comment about endangering their lives and pointed ahead at the red mass of the D-Reaper, "It's from that thing! It...I don't know what to call it but those birds are turning into those things."

"They did? How...that shouldn't...oh...oh that's not good," Tamerkato paused, looking back at the red mass.

Annoyed at being left out, Rika asked, "What is it, goggle head?"

"It might have Calumon. And if it has Calumon, then we really are in trouble. There's no more time to lose! Quick, Rika, where's your dad?"

Rika gestured down at the building, "Inside. But the whole building is locked down! There's no way you're getting inside with the stairs. Never mind that, if you were looking for dad, why are you here?"

"I was aiming for inside Hypnos. I missed and ended up on top of the building. Could be worse. Could be plummeting to my death right now," Tamer remarked.

Guilmon tilted his head sheepishly at his partner, "I don't understand a word Takatomon says anymore and that makes me sad."

"Sorry buddy," he petted his partner's head and raised up his digivice, "Come on. We don't have a minute to lose. DIGIPORT OPEN!"

With another bright flash, the two of them were gone. Rika stamped her foot, "I hate it when he does stuff like that."

"Tell me about it," Ishida agreed bitterly as a moment of silence followed until he asked, "Wait, wasn't Beelzemon falling a moment ago?"

"Yeah, I was. Thanks for nothing," Beelzemon grumbled from behind them. They turned back around to see Rapidmon slowly lifting him back up into the air, dangling him like a bag. The emerald digimon complained, "You weigh a ton, y'know that? What are you eating?"

Beelzemon grunted his disapproval as he cocked his shotgun, "Alright, where the hell is that freak so I can blow him to hell?"

"Gone. Tamer took care of him," Rika answered.

Beelzemon groaned in frustration and stamped his foot so hard that the roof cracked, "Oh, he's here, huh? Hmph…I don't really want to talk to him. Look, I need to get you-"

He pointed at Rika, then at Henry, "And you back to the others. So can we go now or are we just going to sit around talk s'more? Because I'm also not supposed to let ya near the computers or something stupid like that and those things seem pretty set on getting to you."

"Why not?" Henry asked.

Beelzemon groaned and moved to scoop up Rika with one arm. She kicked and failed to be let go but he barely seemed dazed by the hits. He would've picked up Henry but Rapidmon moved in the way to stop him.

Beelzemon just rolled his eyes, "Look, I ain't explaining it again. NOW COME ON AND FOLLOW ME!"

"Hey! Put me down, creep!" Rika protested but Beelzemon wasn't having it any more. Before she could say anything else, the digimon took a running leap off the roof and descended downward.

* * *

Izumi examined the code on the computer carefully for any kind of syntax errors or logical bugs that would cause it to fail. At this rate, they'd only get one chance to fire it and they had to make it count. Unfortunately, it was hard to concentrate on his coding when he could feel Yamaki's gaze on him. He looked up from his screen to ask, "Can I help you?"

"I'm just making sure you're not going to sabotage the code to save your pets," Yamaki frowned.

Izumi turned his chair to face him, "I'm not exactly happy about this arrangement either. If it were my call, I'd shut this whole thing and destroy all the data."

"And yet doing that would put your daughter in unnecessary danger," Yamaki started matter of factly. His wife didn't take to the unwarranted questioning and poked him in the chest, "Hey, don't go threatening our daughter like that. Now back the hell off and let him work."

Whatever Yamaki was about to say in response was cut off by a sudden loud flash of light that pulled their attention to the center of the room. The security team was already moving on the situation, weapons drawn and ready to fire, "Perimeter breach."

"Surround it! Keep it contained!"

"Check your fire, don't hit any civilians!"

"Why does everyone feel the need to point a weapon at me today?" the Tamer's voice echoed from the center of the security guards now converging on where the light flashed. They heard a growl and one of the guards stepped backwards away from the growling Guilmon. Tamer flicked him in the snout to stop the dinosaur and snatched the handgun out of the hands of the guard pointing him at him. Just as quickly, he removed the magazine and tossed it over his shoulder as he walked out of the circle of guards, "I swear if I see another gun pointed at me today."

"Perimeter clear," one of the guards said nervously and a sense of calm went back over the crowd of panicked workers.

Izumi wheeled himself away from his desk to get a better look while Yamaki marched over to meet him, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in their world?"

"I heard about what's going on and came to make sure everything's okay. Also need Rika's dad's laptop," Tamer remarked, hurrying over to Koushiro with the most serious look he'd ever seen on The Tamer's face. Mimi put a hand on her hips and went to meet him, "Here comes trouble."

"Hello to you too, Rumiko...Mimi...whatever, you know who you are. Izzy! Do you have your old laptop? The one from forever ago?" Tamer asked quickly. Koushiro reached for the bag hanging from the back of his chair, "Always. I've held on to it for a long and I don't intend to let it go. What do you want with it anyway?"

"It's part of a plan I'm working on. I put a back up of the Digital World on your computer remember? I can use this to help separate the worlds along with a bunch of information on all the type of digimon," Tamer explained knowledgeably. However, that didn't exactly put his mind at ease as he listened to the boy ramble on, "And this could be what gives us an edge over the D-Reaper since it's currently attacking the facility."

A loud bang from outside the blast shields reminded them of what was just outside and Guilmon started growling again. Tamer shot a surprised glance at the steel and remarked, "Are...are they seriously just ramming themselves against the metal?"

"Well, it's starting to dent if you haven't noticed," Mimi gestured at the indentations all along the metal barricades. Two more appeared as another bang followed.

Tamer frowned, "Oh that's not good. Thanks for the laptop Izzy. I'll try to distract it so please hurry up. OH! And where's the smart one who made the camera program?"

"Here!" she called out, "Why? What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that it's time we know what the D-Reaper's doing," Tamer hurried over to her computer and pointed his digivice at it, "Okay, I hope you won't mind if I borrow that."

Another light flash from his digivice and the computer's screen glitched only for a moment before it returned to normal. Then he pointed his digivice at Izzy's laptop and light flashed again, "Alright, that should do it. If you'll excuse me. DIGIPORT OPEN!"

"Tamer, wait!" Mimi tried calling out to him only to see him vanish in another flash of light as quickly as he appeared, "One day, we're going to nail him to the floor before he can do that."

"Time's a factor people! Let's get back to work," Yamaki clapped his hands to get everyone's attention and started barking orders to get everyone focusing on their job. Koushiro sighed and went back to his computer, although now he was pondering just what the Digimon Tamer was thinking - he needed the laptop with the back up of the Digital World and the camera program that she developed for the Ark. No matter what he thought of, though, he wasn't sure what the Tamer could be planning to do with both of those items. Then again, Tamer admitted to making this up as he went so maybe there was no plan. Maybe he was just talking out of his ass to keep them calm. He wasn't sure he liked that alternative.

* * *

Beelzemon continued over the rooftops of the city with the girl in his arms and Rapidmon just behind him. There was also a crowd of those scythe creatures attacking too which didn't help. With every step and leap he took, Rika screamed and cried at the top of her lungs, "Put me down! Put me down! Taomon!"

"Will you SHADDAP!? I'm trying to concentrate. I got half the city after us - those things and the humans who keep shooting at us," Beelzemon gestured at the soldiers shooting at them from below and the creatures pursuing them. Point that out didn't stop the girl from flailing and kicking violently, much to his increasing annoyance, "For the love of…if I didn't like yer partner, I'd drop ya. I have no idea how she puts up with you."

"Probably a lot better than she puts up with you!" Rika spat back. Beelzemon really wanted to drop her right now and it took all his effort to not do it. He was trying to turn over a new leaf. He couldn't do that if he was just going to drop her. Besides, he made a promise to those damn digimon partners of theirs.

"Seriously, where are you going!?" Henry shouted from Rapidmon's back. He looked over his shoulder once to shout, "I just told you, didn't I? Try to pay attention."

He hurried on, blasting everything in his way with his shotgun until he saw a mass of the pendulum creatures swarming around a roof top. That was where he'd left both Taomon and Justimon - and he could see both of them on their knees and ready to give in. He cocked his shotgun and took aim, "HANG ON!"

He fired off both shells - neither shot connected because the creatures moved out of the way but it cleared the opening they needed to rejoin the digimon. He set the girl down and looked up to see Rapidmon rocketing in behind him with Henry in tow - just avoiding crashing into the roof, "Okay, we're here. Now what!?"

"And who the hell is that!?" Rika pointed at Justimon.

"Rika, it's me," he answered as if he expected her to recognize him.

And as expected, she grumbled, "And that answers my question how?"

"It's Ryo and Monodramon…Cyberdramon? They're Justimon now," Taomon clarified for the girl whose jaw appeared to literally fall open with amazement.

It was embarrassing to watch her ogle him like he were a piece of eye candy. Justimon could only wave at her shyly as Rika pointed in disbelief, "You're…wow…hang on. Since when?"

Beelzemon groaned, "It's a long story and we don't have time. Just do the thing already!"

"Right…um…here we go," Rika raised her digivice above her head expectantly, as if that would actually doing anything.

When nothing happened, Beelzemon lost his patience, "What's taking so long?"

"Hey! We don't even know how we did it in the first place," Rika answered as the scythe creatures began to converge upon them.

Rapidmon raised up his guns and cried out, "Well figure it out fast. We'll hold these guys off for as long as we can!"

"RAPID FIRE!"

"TALISMAN OF LIGHT!"

"JUSTICE BURST!"

Beelzemon joined the fray, firing into the swirling mass of creatures encircling them in the hopes of doing some kind of damage to them. In the mess of attacks they were unleashing, a few of the creatures actually dodged straight into the attack and were destroyed. But like the bird creatures that preceded them, every one they defeated was quickly replaced by another so that it seemed that their attacks did nothing against their number.

"It's not working!" Rapidmon called out.

"They're getting closer," Justimon shouted.

"SHUT UP AND KEEP SHOOTING!" Beelzemon growled at them. If they spent half as much time doing anything as they did talking, maybe they wouldn't be in this mess but nope. Still, he kept firing his gun at everything he saw until-

"RIKA!"

One of the creatures took a swipe at the girl with its blade, and the girl was too frozen by surprise to do anything about it. Not run, not get out of the way. She just stood in its path like a deer in the path of a car. He turned his gun on the attacker and pulled the trigger - but the shot went wide and missed. Then Taomon leapt in front to protect her partner.

A bright light shone as Taomon stood in front of Rika and Beelzemon was blinded. Then he heard a yell and a scream, followed by a crash. When the light cleared, he could see the kid with the blue hoodie and Guilmon lying on the ground just in front of everyone. And the attacking thing was gone.

Tamer stood up and dusted himself off, "WHY IS EVERYONE DOING THAT TODAY!?"

* * *

"Goggle head!?" Rika blurted out in surprise annoyed that he was here, "What are you doing now!?"

"Takatomon, can we stop doing that? My everything is starting to hurt," Guilmon whimpered sheepishly as he massaged his tail.

Takato patted the dinosaur, "Sorry buddy. I promise I'll get better at this. Eventually."

"Can _eventually_ be _now_?" Guilmon whined quietly from the floor.

Takato grinned and turned towards the mass of the puppet creatures who stopped their attack. They were now content to just float there and stare down at Tamerkato as he strolled towards one, "Hello! You must be those things trying to attack the-"

"You appear before us again," one moved in front of him, speaking in its horrifying drone, "State your intention. What is your purpose?"

"Purpose? I dunno. I make up a lot of this stuff as I go," he replied. Rika couldn't believe...no, she refused to believe what she was seeing. That thing was talking to him. Talking.

She wasn't sure what surprised her more - the fact that it could talk or the fact that it thought Tamerkato was worth talking to. No good could come from this interaction. Then the boy spun on his heels, "Guys, glad to see you're all still alive. I was kinda worried your mom would kill me if you got killed. Or try to anyway. Wait…are we in a Digital Space? When did that happen?"

"Your attempts at distraction are futile," the creature droned, "State your purpose."

HIs shoulders slumped as he turned on the thing, "Fine…fine…those bird things, the ones you sent around the city. They've been gathering information, haven't they? Learning all they can about this world so that you can figure out how to destroy it all. My question is…have you learned enough or would you like this?"

He produced his digivice from his pocket and extended it out to the creature, "Go ahead and scan it if you'd like. That contains information on the Digital World, all the digimon out there, and a copy of the Guardian's Archive. Including everything that could possibly be, ever! The best part is, once you have access to this, you still won't be asking the right questions."

The puppet thing hesitated. Rika wasn't sure what he was playing at and that made her nervous. After all, she had seen what Tamerkato was capable of when he wanted to be dangerous. Megidramon flashed through her mind as she thought about it.

"What questions?" the creature asked.

"Scan it," the boy winked. The creature blinked and reached out to touch the digivice. Immediately, the device flashed with light and dozens of images began flashing on its small screen. They all watched as the creature continued to scan the data on the screen as it flew past, all the while the kid's smile widened, "Have you figured out what the question is or should I keep waiting?"

"Only one: Why?" the creature repeated again with its once again tone.

"Try again."

"Is this a trap?"

"Keep going."

"What are you planning?"

"I already said I make this up as I go. Once more."

Rika noticed Beelzemon getting impatient with all this and he readied his gun to shoot, only to see another of those puppet things appear in front of him. He clicked his tongue and stepped back as the other puppet thing continued to scan. Then it asked, "What is the question?"

The smile widened as he finally explained, "The question is: Are these worlds defended? Because you're not the first. There've been so many others - whole _armies_ have tried to destroy the Digital World and the Human World."

Images flashed on the screen of so many digimon she knew about from the show and books - Devimon and Etemon, Myotismon and his armies, the Dark Masters and Apocalymon, Dragomon and his hordes from the Dark Ocean, Mummymon and Arukenimon. As they flashed on screen, Tamerkato added, "And the thing you're not thinking about is this: what happened to them?"

As he spoke the images on screen changed to humans and digimon. No, once she looked closer - it was the digidestined and their partners.

Her parents - Mimi and Koushiro, and their partners Palmon and Tentomon. The teacher Kari and her partner Gatomon. Then her mom's designer friend Sora and Biyomon. On and on it went, flashing the face of each human and their digimon partner. Then Ryo's face flashed with Monodramon...and it followed with her face and Renamon's. Then Juri and Leomon. Henry and Terriermon. Kazu and Guardromon. Kenta and MarineAngemon. Xiaochun and Lopmon. Two random kids and Impmon. Then another guy.

It took her a moment to understand who it was. But once it clicked, she understood. In the anime it was Taichi...little Kari's older brother and one of the main characters in the novel. But here, it was Tamer. It had to be. His original face. And his partner Agumon. And the screen flash again to him glowing a bright light as he made a pained face - a face that changed slowly until it began to turn into Tamerkato's face. And the image cut out as he put the digivice away while wearing that stupidly confident smile of his, "Hello again. I'm the Digimon Tamer."

The puppet creature flinched like it was afraid of him. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing as it handed, "You've just seen an entire database of the Guardians about my people. And now you know what you're up against. You just threatened me and everything I care about. Do whatever you want to me if you think you're brave enough. But you hurt my friends. Worse, you kidnapped one of my friends and hurt her. You've seen what happened to all the others with all their plans and their schemes and their powers. So now let _me_ ask a question: what do you think is going to happen to _you_?"

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** That's a hell of a threat the Digimon Tamer just made. What will the D-Reaper do in response? Will the Hypnos team be able to finish the Juggernaut Project in time? Will Juri be saved or will the D-Reaper destroy both worlds. Find out all this in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out in three weeks on Friday May 29th at 8 PM CDT. I understand if some of you are increasingly frustrated about the delayed schedule as of late. I'm not happy about it either. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic is making work very busy and it's robbing me of any motivation to write or be creative outside that. For those of you keeping up with me through this crisis, thanks for your support and stay safe out there. That's all for now. Leave a review to let me know what you guys think and don't forget to follow to keep up with updates and favorite to show support. That's all I have for now, let's look at previews of the next chapter:

" _Yamaki! Lock down your building and secure whatever assets you have. I want as much of it to be as salvageable as possible," the Prime Minister's voice said over the phone. His tone betrayed whatever anxiety he was feeling. Yamaki did his best to remain calm but he knew what that tone meant, listening intently as the Prime Minister went on, "We've authorized the drop. We're pulling as many people out of the city as possible."_

" _Sir, with respect, that sounds extreme. My team hasn't even been able to finish fixing the Juggernaut program yet," Yamaki tried to reason with the man._

 _The Prime Minister wasn't having any of it and interrupted him, "I don't care for your excuses Yamaki. You and your Juggernaut have never been effective in containing this problem and you know it. The bomb drop has already been authorized and the Americans have planes en route to the city. You've got about twenty minutes to secure everything. I want it to be sellable when all this is over. After that, the Defense Minister and I will be reviewing your role within the Ministry of Defense."_


	44. Out of Time

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

…

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 44: Out of Time**

Justimon looked from Tamerkato to Guilmon to Rika. Henry, Beelzemon, Rapidmon, and Taomon were all wearing the same stunned expression on their face as the puppet creature just hovered in the air in front of them. All of them were stunned speechless in light of what they just saw. Not only did the Digimon Tamer just hand all the information his people ever had to this thing, but he was still telling the D-Reaper off. Then something more unbelievable happened. The puppet and bird creatures began to retreat away. All across the horizon, they could see the swarms of pendulum feet and bird creatures fleeing off towards the red mass in the distance. Only one stayed, the creature he'd been talking to.

But anyone could tell by the way it kept its distance that it was afraid of this boy standing in front of it.

Tamerkato adjusted the goggles on his head and went on to add, "If I can give you one piece of advice that you really ought to take: Run."

With that, the creature turned in the air and fled away at full speed - hurrying to rejoin the rest of the retreating monsters. It was huge relief and a welcome sight to see them on the run for once. Rapidmon was the first one to fall over backwards and breathe a deep sigh, "Finally, we can take a break. I'm starving!"

"You don't have a mouth," Tamerkato remarked, reaching out his hand to Rika, "Do you mind if I borrow the D-Terminal? I need to message the others."

But the relief didn't last as they looked at Tamerkato. Taomon was the first one to get his attention, "Was it a good idea to give that thing access to the knowledge of the Ancients?"

"Guardians," Tamerkato corrected as he finished typing his message. Then he put the device away and cracked a smile, "And probably not. I mean, I gave it a list of every strength and weakness the Guardians recorded for every digimon, along with strategies to counter them."

"O...kay," Rapidmon sat up, and looked up at him, "There's a 'but' in there right?"

Tamerkato crossed his arms and flashed a great big smile, "Yes, there's a but. I put the camera program that one of those monster makers made inside the thing. Now we'll be able to see whatever it sees."

"Okay...and how can we use that for the plan?" Justimon asked.

Tamerkato shrugged, "No idea. Just thought it'd be good to have. I'm making this up as I go."

"GOGGLE HEAD!" Rika snapped at him, "The only reason I didn't smack you across the head earlier is because I thought you knew what you were doing!"

"I kinda know what I"m doing," he smiled calmly, snapping his fingers.

Rika glared daggers at him, "You just said you were making this up as you go!"

Tamerkato's smile just grew wider, "Exactly. You want to know why I'm the only Guardian still walking around? Because they tried too hard to keep things ordered, too hard to make things the way they were supposed to be, while I never knew what I was going to do next. And if I don't know what I'm going to do next, then what chance does that thing have to stop me!? I might stick to the plan, or I might do something completely unpredictable! Who knows? Not that thing!"

"If you're trying to make me punch you then you're succeeding," Rika seethed through very grit teeth, her hands curled up into fists ready to start delivering tough blows. Justimon was sure his fists would be all over the boy before she could even get close to him.

Tamerkato's eyes widened in panic, perhaps realizing that he'd screwed himself and he quickly added, "Don't worry. I'm on top of things. For now. Probably."

Annoyed and unconvinced of just how much control Tamerkato had over the situation, Rika went ahead and punched him for good measure. Justimon had to admit it was very satisfying to watch but tried to stay focused on the situation at hand. Although now a question was eating at him in the back of his mind. A question that desperately needed answering, "How do we know you even are Tamer? You could be that Trickster guy again trying to pull the wool over our eyes!"

Tamerkato raised an eyebrow, "I keep hearing that name…Trickster…who the hell is Trickster?"

"He says he's an Ancient like you," Justimon said, pointing at the old digivice he had, "He even had one exactly like that. So how do we know you're not him?"

Tamerkato blinked at him, seemingly contemplating how to respond to his accusation. After a moment, he finally responded to Ryo, "If this is a joke, I'm not finding it funny. There are no other Guardians left."

"That doesn't really answer my question," Justimon grumbled.

"I was there. They're all gone," Tamerkato said sternly, his tone shifting to suppress a growing anger, "So if you're done trying to throw me off, we still have a bunch of worlds to save!"

"Yeah, and how are we going to do that? You don't have a plan remember!?" Rika stamped her feet on the ground. Tamerkato gestured back towards the Metropolitan Building, "First, we go back that way and clear the area around Hypnos!"

Justimon heaved a sigh, annoyed that he had to keep explaining this, "We can't. That Trickster guy said the fact that we're in a Digital Field now means we can't go anywhere near electronics without frying them."

Tamerkato paused, putting a hand to his chin, "How do I explain this…if that were true, wouldn't it have broken all of our electronics already?"

"Do you really want to risk breaking everything?" Rika complained.

Tamerkato threw up his hands, "Fine! Whatever! We won't go near the tower. All the same, that's YOUR families trapped in there. So if you don't want to pull away those things, I will! DIGIPORT OPEN!"

He pointed his digivice beneath himself and Guilmon who whined, "Please, not again!"

And then they were gone in a flash of light, leaving the rest of them behind. Justimon groaned, "I really _hate_ when he does that."

Rika dusted herself off, "But he's right. Our parents are back there."

"Yeah! With the digidestined! They'll be fine!" Justimon reminded her. Their parents…her parents…had been doing this a lot longer than they had. If anyone could survive this, it was going to be them. And yet, he could tell from the worried look on her face that she didn't agree. And if he had to be honest? He was a little worried about his parents too.

 _Aw…look at you getting all mushy about your parents_ , Monodramon's voice echoed inside his head. Ryo couldn't argue with that either. He was deeply worried about his parents…and it wasn't like he didn't care about them after everything that happened. He needed to know they were safe and he gave in to temptation.

"Shut up Monodramon. Fine, we'll go check to make sure they're safe," Justimon sighed, turning towards the Shinjuku Towers, "Let's go!"

…

Yamaki was growing increasingly anxious as he watched the steel of the blast door start to give under repeated attacks and blasts from the villains. They were running out of time and he wasn't sure his security teams would actually be able to contain a breach - let alone the countless ones that were bound to occur. Then Izumi took that moment to announce, "Just got another message from Tamer! He says the cavalry's on the way! What does that mean? Cavalry? Who else is coming?"

Yamaki wasn't sure what kind of cavalry they had right now. Then there was a loud bang from outside that shook the building. On instinct, Yamaki drew his gun and started scanning the blast doors, "All units, report! Do we have a breach?"

"Engineering is clear! No breaches!"

"No breach in the labs!"

"Containment facility clear! No breaches!"

Yamaki didn't like that. What the hell was that blast? He wanted to question it when he heard a phone ring. His phone. He kept his gun drawn and declared, "Stay on your guard! Everyone else, get back to work. Every second counts people!"

Even though he said that, the entire team was frozen in place and hesitated to return to work. They were all scared out of their minds. He couldn't blame them and tried to cool his tone, "I get it. We're all scared. But it's not just ourselves we have to worry about. We all have family and friends out there in the middle of all this. Right now, we're the best chance many of them have. So let's get it together people."

The phone continued to ring against what he was saying but it seemed to motivate at least some of his team to get back to work. That was going to have to be good enough. He sighed and hurried back into his office to see the call was coming straight from the Prime Minster's office. He turned on the recorder and picked up the phone, "Director Yamaki speaking."

"Yamaki! Lock down your building and secure whatever assets you have. I want as much of it to be as salvageable as possible," the Prime Minister's voice said over the phone. He spoke with an uneasy tone and it was immediately clear that he had done something incredibly stupid. Yamaki did his best to remain calm but he knew what that tone meant, listening intently as the Prime Minister went on, "We've authorized the drop. We're pulling as many people out of the city as possible."

Yamaki couldn't believe what he was hearing. That was extreme and would put too many lives in danger. Maybe he could reason with the man, "Sir, with respect, that sounds extreme. My team hasn't even been able to finish fixing the Juggernaut program yet. If we have more time, we can do this without putting our own citizens in danger. I just-"

The Prime Minister wasn't having any of it and interrupted him, "I don't care for your excuses Yamaki. You and your Juggernaut have never been effective in containing this problem and you know it. The bomb drop is already underway and the Americans have planes en route to the city. You've got about twenty minutes to secure everything. I want it to be sellable when all this is over. After that, the Defense Minister and I will be reviewing your role within the Ministry of Defense."

Yamaki didn't like the sound of that and was glad he was recording the conversation. Although it seemed almost too perfect. He was being handed the kind of leverage he needed on a silver platter. On the other hand, desperation made people prone to bad decision making and Hypnos' budget could always use a few more zeroes. He wasn't going to challenge it and simply nodded, "We'll do what we can."

"Good. Get it done," the Prime Minister said before ending the call. He didn't like being kept on a short leash by this incompetent moron. He did like that he was going to hang the man from it once all of this was done. He ran a hand through his hair and gave it some thought...even if they finished Juggernaut right now, there was still the matter of the bomb going off over the city. The death toll was going to be in the thousands at least.

He needed to calm down and think of a plan. What could he do? He needed to get the word out discretely but there was no way he could act without getting intercepted. Unless he used the D-Terminal Izumi kept on him. He rushed out of his office, moving as calmly as he could to avoid alarming the rest of the team and towards Izumi's work desk. The man was busy reviewing the code with Ichijouji and Zhenyu. And naturally his wife was hovering right over his shoulder.

Yamaki began, "Izumi. Can I borrow you for a minute?"

"Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of the others," Izumi remarked.

Of course. Izumi had been anything but cooperative since the first time Juggernaut blew. Yamaki sighed, "I need to borrow that messaging device of yours."

"Why?" Izumi turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

Yamaki leaned in close and spoke quietly, "I need you to keep this quiet. Understood?"

Now he had Misses Izumi, Zhenyu and Misses Ichijouji's attention. He really wanted to keep this just between Izumi and himself but there was no avoiding it now. But that wasn't enough for him, "Can you keep this quiet?"

"Yes," Izumi said. Yamaki checked once over his shoulder before whispering, "The Prime Minister just authorized the bomb drop. We've got twenty minutes to get the word out to your kids."

"Are you kidding?" Izumi whispered back, "We need to tell everyone!"

"And then what? Have them all stop working? Have them quit? Not while I'm on duty and not while we're the only chance the world has of surviving this thing! Right now, the only thing keeping everyone together is the idea that there's a chance. I'm not about to break that news to them. Let them keep working," Yamaki argued back quietly, "The sooner we get Juggernaut working, the better!"

Izumi looked back at him intently, his eyes seeming to weigh the options that were presented to him. He didn't like it either but what other choice did they have? He sighed and slid the D-Terminal towards him. Yamaki opened it and began typing out his message, ' _This is Yamaki. The Americans are going to bomb the city. No idea what kind of bomb, but it'll hit in twenty minutes.'_

Then he hit send, watching the message zip away into the ether. He sighed, "Now it's all on those kids."

"What exactly is your plan here, Yamaki?" Izumi asked disbelievingly. He grimaced, adjusting his glasses as he confessed, "I don't have one. Right now, I'm putting all of my hopes on you guys and the plan of that crazy one to get us all out of this alive."

He must've sounded crazy. However, it was what he needed to say at that moment. Izumi stifled a laugh, "Never thought I'd see the day where you had run out of ideas."

...

Sora and Ishida were on the roof fighting through as many of the creatures as they could with MetalGarurumon and Hououmon. But for every one of the birds they killed, three more appeared to take their place. And that was before they did anything about the ones with blades for appendages. At least the birds didn't fight back but these bladed ones were damn near untouchable. Even with all the mega level digimon they had on their side.

"STRIKE OF THE SEVEN STARS!"

Seven bright burning orbs burst through the mass of enemy bird creatures, clearing a path for them to be joined by MagnaAngemon and Magnadramon. The two digimon set down on the roof so that their partners TK and Kari could rejoin them, but that didn't mean anything against the swarm of these things that quickly regained their numbers. Kari and TK rejoined the married couple, TK asking, "Are you guys alright?"

"Just trying to hold these things back! There's no end to them!" Ishida explained, "The more time we buy, the better. But we can't keep playing defense like this forever! Our partners just can't take it."

Rosemon, HerculesKabuterimon, MetalGarurumon, Hououmon, Magnadramon, and MagnaAngemon. Six mega level digimon together in the same place and they may as well not have been there for all the good they were doing. As all six of them tried to think of how they were going to handle the situation next, their D-terminals beeped together. Sora opened hers first, reading the message aloud, "It's from Mimi's D-Terminal…wait…no, it says it's from Yamaki…he says they're going to bomb the city!"

"It'll kill us! They can't!" Kari gasped.

"Not just us. The entire city. There's no way they've evacuated the place in time," TK pointed out to them. Ishida began scanning the horizon for anything out of place, "We might be able to stop it if we find the plane that's going on the attack. Shoot it down before it gets close."

"Yeah, and give the government another reason to be pissed off at us!?" Sora remarked.

"You say that like they're not already mad at us," Takeru mused.

"They won't like us either way so who cares? MetalGarurumon!" Matt grumbled.

"I'm a little busy!" the wolf said as he bit into one of the bird creatures and tried ripping it apart with his teeth. However, that didn't stop him from getting swarmed by other bird creatures flying straight at him. The wolf roared in defiance as he was pulled from the sky, still trying to peel away as many of the bird creatures as he could.

He was saved by Hououmon and Rosemon prying away as many of the birds as possible. Magnadramon, Rosemon, and HerculesKabuterimon destroyed as many of the bird creatures as they could. Once he was free, the mega adjusted himself and flew straight back up to rip apart as many of them as he could. Ishida tried calling for his attention again, "MetalGarurumon!"

"WHAT!?"

"They're going to-"

BANG!

"YEAH! TAKE THAT! AND THAT! YA LIKE THAT!? HA!"

Beelzemon made his return running up the side of the building and firing his guns at the creatures, laughing manically as he went. All four digidestined were stumped by what they saw, especially since he'd left just a minute ago with Izzy and Mimi's daughter. And now he was back, helping to clear out the bird creatures, "Okay! What is happening right now?"

"Not this guy again!" Ishida grumbled as Beelzemon landed beside him, "Where's Ruki!?"

"The girl? Somewhere down there with the fox tuts!" Beelzemon gestured down below, "Something 'bout how they can't come near the building or something stupid. I dunno. I'm just here to wipe these things out! TAKE THIS! HAHA!"

Beelzemon charged off firing his cannons at the attacking creatures while cackling manically. Ishida sighed, "Okay. That happened. We need to get down there and tell them about the bomb!"

Kari pushed herself ahead, "I'll go. You'll probably punch Tamer if you see him and the last thing we need is for him to run off again! Magnadramon!"

Matt was very close to blowing a fuse and was certain that another meeting with Tamer was the last thing he needed at the moment. He looked to his wife who gave him a certain look and nodded, "Okay. Fine. Do whatever you have to do."

…

The pink serpentine dragon soared by and scooped Kari up before diving for the ground, "I heard what's going on, Kari. Are you sure you don't want to help stop the plane!?"

"We can't if we wanted to. Imperialdramon's the only one who could go fast enough and he's in the Digital World with Ken and Davis!" Kari explained to her partner, "Besides. I bet Tamer will want to know before-"

"Been meaning to ask. When did you stop calling him Tai?" Magnadramon interrupted, "Or your brother?"

Kari gave that question some thought, trying to think of how to explain that to her partner, "I think…after everything's that happened…I don't know when it happened but…Tai's gone. I've made my peace with that."

"Uh huh...and the reason you're doing it now?" Magnadramon asked.

Kari patted her partner, "Can we talk about this _after_ we're done fighting the not-digimon?"

The timing couldn't have been more perfect as more of the evil creatures swarmed around them. Magnadramon agreed, "Yes, You're right! I can see the others! There's...wait, what is that?"

She gestured at the humanoid digimon who looked like a superhero wearing battle armor and a long red scarf. Rika, Henry, Rapidmon, and Taomon were down there as well - fighting their way through the swarm of bird monsters. Magnadramon prepared to clear them out with her attack and roared, "DRAGON FIRE!"

Bolts of lightning broke from the heavens and struck several of the birds, blowing them apart. However, this did nothing to slow their advance as more of the bird creatures and bladed creatures appeared to rip them apart. Magnadramon roared as she landed beside the others, "There's no end to these guys!"

"We'll have to keep trying!" Kari said as she leapt off her partner to race towards the others, "What are you doing?"

"Trying to clear these guys away from the tower and our families!" Henry said back. Kari blinked, wondering if they even knew, "Didn't you get the message? The Americans are going to bomb the city!"

"What? When!?" Rika gasped.

"About nineteen-ish minutes. We just got the message ourselves," Kari said, watching the expressions on these two kids twist in shock. It was Diaboromon all over again, only stopping an evil digimon wouldn't be enough this time. They'd have to stop both the D-Reaper and the bomb coming towards them. She took another glance around and realized, "Wait! Where's Tak...Tamer and Guilmon?"

"Guy just vanished on us. We thought he was here!" Rapidmon answered.

"Did you see him?" Taomon asked.

"Last we saw, he ran off to help you guys," Kari answered. Each of the kids and their partner digimon collectively groaned at that statement. It probably wouldn't have been as frustrating if their lives weren't in any immediate danger. As she was about to take charge, a bright flash of light appeared in front of them followed by a yelp.

Tamer and Guilmon were flat on the ground in front of them. Guilmon rolled onto his side and whined, "Can we stop doing that, please?"

"Sorry buddy. Still working on the landing. I swear I was a lot better at this," Tamer grumbled as he picked himself up. Upon standing, every single one of the creatures stopped in their tracks. It was probably the first real chance any of them had to look at these creatures up close and it would've been beautiful if they also didn't speak with the most jarring of mechanical drones, "PRIMARY THREAT HAS ARRIVED. DISENGAGE AND REEVALUATE."

And as quickly as the creatures came to attack, they all turned to leave towards the growing red mass in the distance. Kari blinked at the sight, unsure what to make of it and looked towards Tamer for an explanation, "Do you mind telling me what that was all about?"

"Nothing...probably," Tamer answered as he dusted himself off.

However, that didn't stop Rika from correctly pointing out, "That's not what happened and you know it goggle head! This guy just gave a whole bunch of info to that thing! Including, how to defeat and counter every single one of our digimon!"

Kari didn't believe what she'd just been told and looked at Tamer for his retort. Only to be met with his usual cheeky grin as he said, "It worked, though, didn't it? Now it's too afraid to attack because it has no idea what I'm going to do!"

"What?" Kari blinked back at him, trying her best to process what she'd just heard, "You just...gave that info to it? WHY!?"

"Honestly, I'm making up parts of the plan as I go. I have no idea what's going to work and what won't right now," Tamer admitted sheepishly as he took a look around, "So what's the situation over here?"

"Well, we were trying to save the tower and beat those things back. Now we've got a different problem," Rika explained, "Your teacher…sister…whoever she is to you just said they're going to bomb the city!"

Now it was his turn to be stumped stupid, "They are? With what? When?"

"About eighteen minutes now," Kari said after a quick glance at her watch.

Tamer grunted and ran a hand through his hair, "Okay, let me think. Oh, that's not good. Wait...actually, that might be very good!"

"How is the city getting blown up any good?" Rika asked with a raised eyebrow. Tamer turned on her and said, "Easy! We let them drop the bomb!"

"WHAT!?" everyone said together in wide eyed disbelief of what they'd just heard. He couldn't have been serious. Then again, maybe that's what was supposed to happen. And if it was, they couldn't count on Tamer to stop it. He'd probably personally make sure the bomb got to the D-Reaper in one piece.

Of course his relaxed attitude wasn't helping them any, "Guys relax. The Guardians has technology that could blow whole worlds out of existence and nothing they had could stop this thing. You think a bomb is going to work? Even the most powerful weapon in this world's arsenal are just styrofoam darts to it."

"For the love of-That's not what we're worried about!" The red scarfed digimon said. Kari and Magnadramon both looked at the Digimon and finally said what was on their mind, "Okay, is someone going to tell us who that is?"

"Hi there. Justimon. Nice to meet you," he introduced himself before turning back on Tamer, "Back to my point, we're worried because a lot of people are going to die from that bomb!"

Tamer blinked again, "I wouldn't worry about it. But that does give me an idea on how to save Juri."

"Are you even listening to use or are you just licking and choosing whatever works for you?" Taomon asked angrily. Tamer shrugged and gestured ahead, "Honestly, I was thinking of how to rescue Juri but bombing it works just as well ."

"How?" Kari demanded. Tamer gestured at the red mass, "The blast should give us an opening to go and get Juri. The problem will be getting close enough to take advantage of that opening without getting eaten alive or blown apart by the blast."

"Goggle head! Focus!" Rika said with exasperation, "No more making this up as you go! No more we don't know what you're going to do next! What!? Is!? The!? Plan!?"

Tamer put a hand to his chin, still obviously lost in thought.

Now Henry was losing patience and asked, "No offense, but can you please start talking? Because the fact that the rest of us are just kind of going with the flow isn't making anyone feel better."

Tamer finally broke his silence, "I'm thinking. Have a lot of thoughts but I'm not going to spout everyone that comes to mind. We need to rescue Juri. That's the part of the plan I'm still working on. We know where she is and we know where the bomb will drop so we...nothing."

"Can we eat the bomb?" Guilmon asked.

Tamerkato's face lit up with excitement and he turned to his partner to hug, "Guilmon! That is brilliant! Just like Orochimon! Feed it the bomb and explosion might clear an opening big enough for us to...yes...almost getting there...then we fight our way...maybe? Got it! Okay! Step one! We need to get our hands on that bomb!"

"WHAT!? I thought we were trying to STOP that!" Justimon asked.

Tamerkato turned on him, "No! See, that's the good part. If the bomb goes off inside the D-Reaper, it should absorb enough of the damage to prevent destroying the city! Besides, I don't blow up stuff…all the time."

"Rambling," Rapidmon said.

Tamer facepalmed and apologized, "Right, right, sorry. Lost my train of thought. The point I'm trying to make is that we need to get that bomb so that _we_ can use it on the D-Reaper. Then _we_ can use it for step two: blow a hole in the D-Reaper."

"We tried that in the Digital World, remember? It doesn't work! Any damage we do goes away as fast as we can deal it out."

"We're not trying to _hurt_ it. We're trying to _get inside_ it. More specifically, we're trying to get inside the D-Reaper to rescue Juri...well, Juri's body. Getting the D-Reaper out of her head is going to be another challenge entirely and I'm still trying to think of a way to do it," Tamerkato admitted quietly.

He put a hand to his chin again to think, trying to think of a workable solution just as another voice called out to them, "HEY!"

Kari turned her head skyward to see the Ishidas, Takeru, and their digimon partners coming to join them - Rosemon, HerculesKabuterimon, MetalGarurumon, Hououmon, and MagnaAngemon. Rosemon landed first, "Okay, what just happened? First they're all over the building and then they just start running away? Did we miss something!?"

"Tamer over here did something and now those things are too freaked out to be around wherever he shows up," Kari explained to them. The looks on all their faces said enough.

Sora shook her head as she said, "Somehow that alone makes way too much sense. So what's the plan?"

Tamerkato groaned, "Boy, I hate repeating myself. Okay, we go back to the original plan. We go on the offense. The biggest issue will be finding where the plane is coming from so we can get to the bomb."

"If it's the Americans, the closest one is Yokota Air Base. That's a joint USAF-JADF base to the west of the city, but it's mostly used for airlift operations. They don't have any fighters or bombers," Matt explained to them while scratching his head, "So if they're coming from there, it'll be on the back of a cargo plane."

"Okay…cargo planes from the west. Got it. Any other places they could be coming from?"

"There's also Misawa Air Base up north but that's on the other side of the country. If they're coming from there, it could be a while before they hit us," Matt explained again, "The bigger problem is that Misawa actually has fighters and bombers. And those go much faster than cargo planes. So who knows what they're sending and what they'll be using to escort it."

"What I wouldn't give to have Imperialdramon here right now," Takeru added sheepishly, "Well, I guess that means we'll have to split up our teams. Half of us go west, the other half go north. We find the plane that's going to blow up Tokyo and…what…hijack the plane?"

"What? No, not the plane! We just want the bomb," Tamerkato said again, "Find the bomb, I can use the digivice to detach it and we fly off with the bomb. Then it's just a matter of getting the bomb back to the city so that we can blow up the D-Reaper."

"Okay...Magnadramon and I can head west to Yokota," Kari volunteered.

"We'll come with," MagnaAngemon added, "Americans are pretty gun crazy already anyway."

"Then Sora and I will go north towards Misawa. If the Americans are coming from that way, MetalGarurumon's speed and Hououmon's maneuverability will be more than enough to counter whatever they've got bringing their bomb," Matt added.

Rapidmon raised up his gun arm, "Okay…and what about the rest of us? Because if I have to do any more running around, I'm going to collapse from exhaustion."

"Sit tight and relax for now. Play defense if those things show up. Otherwise, just be ready to jump into action once we have the bomb," Tamerkato explained matter of factly.

"Okay, I can see no one else is going to ask so I might as well. Why aren't we just letting them drop the bomb? I mean…we're going to use it on the D-Reaper anyway so what difference does it make if we drop it or if they drop it?" Rika asked with a raised hand, her mood souring as she went on, "And more importantly, are we really planning on fighting the American military?"

"It's not the craziest thing we've ever done," Henry smirked, nodding towards the adult digidestined and their partners, "And if you guys are anything like the show, it's not the craziest thing you've done either."

"Show? What?" Rosemon turned her head in confusion.

Takeru just beamed proudly while Matt buried his head in his hands, "Let's not talk about it. Can we get moving already? That bomb isn't going to stop itself!"

…

 **Author's Notes:** They're off to challenge one of the most powerful militaries in the world. What will happen next to the Tamers and the Digidestined? Will the Juggernaut be ready to fire in time? And what will the D-Reaper do to counter their plans? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out in three weeks on Friday June, 19th at 8 PM CDT. I'm sorry again for the delay in updates but as the COVID-19 situation winds down, more people are returning to get medical care that they previously couldn't. So now we're still in the middle of a pandemic and it's getting busier because people are acting like it's not a thing. To be honest, most days I get home dead tired from work and I'm barely able to write or do much else. Anyway, I'm sorry for the delay but I hope I make up for it by letting you know that the updates will probably return to a normal schedule by July. Let me know what you guys think in the comments. And don't forget to favorite the story to show support and follow the story to keep up with all the latest updates. That's all for now, let's jump into previews for the next chapter:

 _About ten minutes north of Tokyo, a flight of F-15s escorting a B-2 made its way towards Tokyo from Misawa Air Base. As the plane made its way, the pilot shook anxiously at the controls. He never thought he'd been given the order to bomb Tokyo, especially without electronic guidance. The risk of civilians casualties and collateral damage was terrifying. He didn't even understand why! It's not like they were at war with the Japanese._

 _At least, he didn't think they were. But political situations changed all the time. Yesterday's friend became tomorrow's enemy - ideals change, the mission shifts, objectives..._

 _It didn't help that they didn't know what exactly they were flying into. Command didn't tell them although they insisted it was because the Japanese government had left them just as much in the dark as it had left the rest of them. Much more likely, it was classified or some other bureaucracy crap. All they had been given was coordinates._


	45. Interception

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 45: Interception**

About ten minutes north of Tokyo, a flight of F-15s escorting a B-2 made its way towards Tokyo from Misawa Air Base. As the planes made their way, the pilot of the lead F-15 shook anxiously at the controls. He never thought he'd been given the order to bomb Tokyo, especially without electronic guidance. The risk of civilians casualties and collateral damage was terrifying. It was practically an act of war! He didn't even understand why they were doing it. It's not like they were at war with the Japanese.

At least, he didn't think they were. But political situations changed all the time. Yesterday's friend became tomorrow's enemy - ideals change, the mission shifts, objectives...

It didn't help that they didn't know what exactly they were flying into. Command briefing boiled down to go here and drop the bomb, although they insisted it was because the Japanese government had left them just as much in the dark as it had left them. Much more likely, it was classified behind some bureaucratic government crap. All they had been given were coordinates.

This was just a fact of the world he'd learned to accept after piloting for so many years. Suddenly, two blips flashed on his radar. He scanned the skies for whatever set it off but only saw deep blue sky. It was likely just another passenger jet that had been diverted from the city. Still, he put out the alert, "Warwolf Squadron. Bogeys on radar. Prepare to defend the bomber."

"Captain, it could just be a civilian flight," came his number two.

"I don't see any civilian aircraft," the third pilot remarked, "Besides. No way two civilian flights would fly that close together."

"I know. Stay on alert," he insisted while continuing to scan the skies. The blips were out there somewhere. They just had to keep their eyes peeled. That was when they saw a flying metal wolf followed closely by a golden bird with two sets of wings soon past them. Both were bigger than any of their planes and neither seemed particularly friendly. Already his squadron was in panic.

"Did you see the size of that bird?"

"Forget the bird! That wolf is flying!"

"It has missiles on the back!"

"Does it matter? Warwolf 3, Warwolf 4, protect the bomber. Warwolf 2, on my lead. We're going after the bird," The flight lead ordered, breaking away from their formation to turn on the bird that was circling back to fight them. His number two formed up behind him and asked, "What about the flying wolf, captain?"

"We'll worry about the it later. Stay glued to my tail. We're going after the bird. If you have a shot, take it," and ordered. He wasn't sure how those things could possibly have known about the bomb but that didn't matter anymore. What mattered was that the payload got to the target.

"Copy," the other pilot said, staying on him as they engaged the golden fiery bird. He primed his weapons and fired up the guns as it came into range, tracing the bird's path across the sky as it swerved and dodged. And as he expected, the bird turned hard and out of the way of the gunfire. Warwolf Two panicked, "They're on us!"

WHAM!

The bird's claw dug into the jet's wing, holding tight so that the two went into a tailspin in the air, "It's on me! Losing thrust. I'm going down!"

"Hang on. I'll shoot it off," the flight lead said, turning his plane to line up a shot on the bird. The two spiraled downward making it hard to line up a clear shot that didn't involve nearly shooting down his number two.

"The ground's getting close boss! Whatever you're going to do, do it quick," the other pilot said.

He took a deep breath, weighing the possibilities before them before explaining, "I can't get a clear shot."

"Fuck it. I'm going to bail out," the number two screamed back.

"Negative, Warwolf Two. Steady the plane," he countermanded. It was too late to reason with the man who was in full panic now. After all, there was no precedent or training for this specific scenario. No amount of training could prepare someone for a giant bird latching onto their plane.

"Either that thing will kill me or the ground will. I'm bailing out," the scared pilot said. There was a flash and the plane's canopy burst open. Another flash followed as the chair ejected from the jet. For a moment, it seemed he would get away until the bird grabbed him with its other claw. He screamed, "FUCK! IT'S ON ME! FUCK! GAAH!"

All bets were off now. He primed his guns and started firing at the bird, only to watch it drop the plane and zoom out of the line of fire. Warwolf Two's screams filled the radio the entire time as he cried out, "FUCK! FUCK! GET! DAMMIT! LET GO!"

Then a woman's voice said over the radio to try and calm him down, "Will you calm him down! We're not going to hurt you so stop screaming!"

"What the fuck!?" Warwolf Two's panicked voice said, "Captain! Got a woman here on the bird! Repeat! I got a-"

Then the woman's voice spoke again, "You're worse than Matt after a bad day. Just stop screaming and let us help you!"

"Who the hell is this? Warwolf Two, can you identify who that is?" he said into the radio but it was useless to even try as the pilot continued screaming in terror. All he could do was stay on that bird and try to get it to drop the chair so he could deploy his parachute. As he turned hard to continue the pursuit, he heard a roar beside him and noticed the metal wolf again. And now that he could see it so closely, he saw what looked like a man riding on its back gesturing at him. It took him a second to register the arm waving and hand gestures - friendly. It was the signal for friendly.

What the hell did that mean? Friendlies that attacked a plane carrying a bomb? He doubted it. Before he could do anything else, the metal wolf sped ahead to join the golden bird and the man riding him began pulling at something on the bird. As he did, Warwolf Two's screams got quieter, "What're you doing!? Who the hell! Hey! Get that off! Stop! Let that go! HEY!"

He went quiet and another man's voice spoke over the radio in really broken english, "Attention all American fighters. Disengage and stand down."

"Who is this?" the flight lead said over the radio, "Identify yourself!"

"Just some friends trying to stop a lot of people dying for no reason. Stand down," the man said again. It didn't take a genius to figure out it was probably the man riding the metal wolf. All the same, he wasn't about to take orders from a foreigner. He said back, "Negative. This is a military operation. Disengage or be destroy-"

He was suddenly blinded by a flash of light and felt a heavy weight land on him, "Finally! That took more tries than it should've. Doesn't help this is a very fast, moving target."

When the pilot could finally see again, he could make out a ten year old boy sitting on his lap. It took all the self control he had to not send the plane spiraling out of control as he demanded, "What the hell? Who are you? How'd you get in here!?"

"No time to answer. Need to get that bomb you're carrying but before that, I need to stop you from shooting my friends. Apologies in advance!" the boy answered as he reached between the pilot's legs for the eject lever beneath him. He realized what was going on too late to stop the boy; the plane's canopy blew open and he felt the chair rocket out of the aircraft. There was another flash as the boy disappeared from his lap but his radio was still working. Through it, he could hear the man talking to the kid.

"TAMER! What are you doing here!?"

"Sorry! When Kari said they didn't see any planes, I thought I'd come check over here. I was trying to land on Hououmon but I missed a couple of times. Not that it matters since I saw all the planes. Speaking of which, that pilot should've eje-"

Whatever he was saying was drowned out by the parachute deploying and him suddenly lurching upward. He had no idea what was happening right now. What he did know was he was never coming back to Japan once he was retired.

* * *

Imperialdramon suddenly stopped in the air and said, "Okay! That makes the second time we've gone around the entire Digital World. We have to scanned everyone by now!"

"All the survivors, at least. There's more of that thing than there are digimon now," Ken said grimly as they hovered over the fight going on miles below. The sky had turned as red as the ground from all the D-Reaper spread. At several points, it would expand skyward when it couldn't expand outward - turning it from an advancing sea to an advancing wall.

"I'm going to message the others now," Davis produced his D-Terminal and started typing away, "We just circled the Digital World twice. Are we ready to go ahead?"

No sooner after he sent it, The Tamer and Guilmon appeared beside them in a flash of light. As soon as they landed, Guilmon hurled all over Imperialdramon's feet and the dragon roared in frustration, "AW! COME ON!"

"I don't like this. Please stop," Guilmon pleaded painfully as he struggled to keep himself up.

"Sorry buddy," Tamer remarked, massaging his back, "You're sure this is everyone, right?"

"It's as many as we can find. We've covered the Digital World twice and the Digital World won't last much longer. We need to move this plan now!" Ken said, hoping the urgency in his voice would carry over to the boy staring back at him. Instead, he paced for a second before answering, "It's ahead of schedule but it's the best we can do. Let's go. Digiport Open!"

"Whoa, wait-"

Ken tried to protest but it was too late. In another brilliant flash of light, they were teleported away from the Digital World and suddenly found themselves in the skies over Tokyo surrounded by the other partner digimon - MetalGarurumon, Hououmon, Magnadramon, Rosemon, HerculesKabuterimon, and the rest. Ken was about to yell but Davis snapped first, "Give us some warning first Tamer! I can feel my lunch turning in my stomach."

"Tell me about it. Please make it stop," Guilmon pleaded again before retching over the side of Imperialdramon.

"Sorry, things are happening faster than I can keep up and I'm just trying to keep it all from blowing up in my face. Henry can explain the plan while I…go back to the Digital World and get that separation started. Dammit, I forgot to do that," he answered before raising up his digivice again, "Digiport Open!"

"Oh no," was all Guilmon managed to say before disappearing in another flash of light. Ken stamped his foot angrily at once again being left out of the loop while Imperialdramon groaned, "I've already been puked on. Please don't kick me too!"

"Sorry, Imperialdramon," Ken pocketed his hands quietly and turned his head in shame, "It's just…too much like old times."

"Don't sweat it, Ken. Just go with it and things'll work out," Davis said with a thumbs up, "So what's the next part of the plan guys?"

Henry massaged his neck and explained nervously, "We rescue Juri. Tamer said we drop this bomb on the D-Reaper right above where the train was and it should create an opening that'll get us to Juri. Once we do that...well, we're not really sure where to go from there."

"Got it. Wing it," Davis nodded ecstatically "But...uh...where'd you get the bomb!? And why does it have the American flag on it?"

"Let me guess: Tamer?" Ken asked, already sure he knew where the answer was going.

"Tamer," Taomon nodded quietly.

Ken buried his face into his hands, letting out a great big sigh before remarking, "Great! So besides avoiding our own government, now we have to worry the Americans are going to come after us."

Matt cracked a smile, "To be fair, that's really more a problem for Hypnos than it is for us. And since they're the ones responsible for putting us in this mess, I say we keep on going. I mean, they're the reason our partners and TK went missing for so long. Speaking of...is everything ready in the Digital World."

"Yeah...what about over here?" Davis thumbed his nose. Kari was already messaging on her D-Terminal, "I'm checking with Izzy now. Hopefully they'll be ready soon because who knows what that thing is going to do once the ball gets rolling."

"Who cares!? Can we just get back to kicking ass already!?" a leather clad digimon holding a shotgun roared. Ken looked over at Davis with a raised eyebrow, seeing the equally confused look on his face meant he was just as lost as he was. And now it was his turn to ask, "So who's this? And who's the digimon with the scarf?"

"Name's Beelzemon," the leather clad digimon grunted angrily, "Are we done talking now? I'm getting antsy just standing here."

"Name's Justimon," the scarf wearing digimon said, "Or...well...if you remember, it's me. Y'know, Ryo."

"Ryo?" Ken repeated for a moment, staring at him in disbelief until it finally clicked, "RYO!?"

"Hey Ken," the digimon waved nervously. His mind reeled at the realization that the boy he thought went missing so many years ago was in fact right there in front of him. And as a digimon. How was that even possible? Last he knew the boy had fallen into a black hole going who knows where.

"Whatever the heck is going here, can it wait until after this is all over? I'm getting kinda sick of all the warm fuzzy crap coming from those two," he gestured angrily at both Justimon and Rika, "That's right! I said it. Get a room."

Izzy and Mimi's daughter promptly kicked Beelzemon in the shin, making the leather clad digimon jump in pain. It would've been funny if the fate of their worlds wasn't at stake. Ken sighed, "So...when do we start?"

"On Tamer's signal," Henry sighed.

* * *

Kazu and Kenta paced the room anxiously, annoyed that they weren't able to help in any capacity while they were stuck inside the Metropolitan Building and both wanting to get out of there as quickly as possible. Their partners however, were content to simply hover over the many scientists and engineers working to get the Juggernaut back online. They watched with a fascinated curiosity, as if trying to get some kind of understanding of what they were doing.

Then a flash of light appeared followed by a yelp. Tamerkato and Guilmon appeared once again in the center of the room. Guilmon proceeded to retch onto the floor and covered a sizable chunk of the carpet with half digested bread and meat that smelled to high heaven, "Please! No more!"

"Sorry buddy. I swear there's just two more. Then we're done," Tamerkato said, dusting himself off, "Yamaki! Where's Yama-there you are! Yamaki, how much longer until Juggernaut is ready?"

His tone was grim as he answered, "Maybe another half hour? But that's making a lot of hopeful wishes and assumptions. Juggernaut is far from ready to fire and there's a good chance that all we'll do is get ourselves blown up again."

"Damn. I need to separate the Digital Worlds now. The digimon can't hold out much longer," Tamerkato said urgently, "Once the Digital Worlds are split, it'll be able to focus itself entirely on this building."

"So you're going to make us decide who's lives are on the line?" Yamaki asked.

"Not at all. I was giving you a warning," Tamerkato said with a deceptively big smile, "Because I'm making that decision. I'll do everything I can to hold it back but Juggernaut needs to be ready to fire."

"Hold on! You said our daughter is in that thing! You're not just leaving her in there to die, are you?" Juri's father jumped into the conversation quickly, "That's my little girl! And it's your fault she's even in this mess!"

"I know. And I'll do everything I can to set it right," Tamerkato added quietly, "I...I am so sorry for that. It wasn't...she wasn't supposed to get hurt."

"Wasn't...or you weren't going to stop it?" Rika's mom scoffed from the other side of the room.

He didn't look at her, keeping his eyes solely on Juri's father, "I will save her. I promise you."

"Like you saved their son?" he gestured at the Matsudas who were sitting quietly in the corner, away from all this. It was obvious to everyone that the dad wanted to get up and punch Tamerkato in the face, and it was Miss Matsuda restraining him from actually doing it. All the same, that didn't stop Tamerkato's eyes from turning to the floor, "No...not like him...Excuse me."

As he stepped away from Juri's father, Kazu and Kenta rushed over to him, "Takato! Dude! When are you going to get us out of here!?"

"Not my name," he replied dryly, almost annoyed at the way they chose to call him by that name now of all times. And the way the Matsudas eyed him bitterly made it clear that they didn't appreciate it either.

Kazu was pretty sure he knew what was going through his mind and tried to pull him away. Tamerkato barely stopped though and Kazu had to urge him, "Dude. Leave them alone."

"No...I need to say this," Tamerkato freed himself from Kazu's hold and proceeded towards his not-parents. This wasn't going to be good and he stepped back towards Kenta, "Here come the fireworks. I can't watch."

"Two rare cards says he gets punched at least once," Kenta added dryly, "Three rare cards says they swear at him too."

"That's a safe bet," Kazu added quietly. Even though he was trying his hardest to ignore it, it was all he could hear. The whole place should've been busy with noise from all the engineers fixing machines and computer programmers typing away. But it was like the whole room had stopped to watch the events play out between the not-quite a family.

Tamerkato tried to get the first word in, "I'm so-"

Mister Matsuda got up and walked away before he could finish what he was saying, leaving his wife there reaching after him solemnly. Then she looked off to Tamerkato quietly, her eyes barely restraining the pain she was feeling just by the sight of him. He massaged the back of his neck nervously, "I...I'm sorry. About everything. About lying to you. About your son. All of it. I'm sorry."

Mrs. Matsuda was quiet for the longest time, trying to find the words to say to him but it was obvious she wasn't even able to look at him. Then she asked a single question, "Does your sorry bring him back?"

"That's the worst question anyone could ask, huh?" Kenta whispered to Kenta, "I'm counting that as a hit. It's a gut punch."

"No way. She needs to actually hit him," Kazu whispered back just as Mrs. Matsuda stood up to slap Tamerkato. The sound was so sharp and the sight so painful that Kazu had to wince. Tamerkato barely flinched from the hit, but his gaze didn't go back. Meanwhile, Kazu whispered, "Okay, you win."

"Is now really the time for this?" MarineAngemon asked.

"You're right, sorry," Kenta admitted sheepishly, looking back to watching the scene unfold.

Tamerkato had stepped away and was massaging his cheek, "I'm not sure what you want me to say...or if there's something you need to hear from me. But I get it if you don't forgive me. I wouldn't forgive me either."

He paused again, seemingly considering his words carefully, "It won't bring your son, the real Takato, back. But...I think he would've wanted you guys to know that you are…were…you're great parents. And he's sorry that he didn't come home but that he was thinking of you guys…even in the end."

Then he was slapped again, "Please...just go away."

Tamerkato massaged his cheek and closed his eyes, "Don't worry. I won't bother you anymore. Guilmon, we're going."

"Coming. Please promise we're done with the digiports," The red dinosaur rushed over to his side and whined, knowing they were about to take off for the Digital World again.

Just as he was about to go, Kazu rushed in, "Hang on. We're coming too."

"Oh no you're not!" his dad protested.

"We've been stuck in here the whole time while everyone else is out there getting themselves in danger! There's no way I'm going to sit around in here one second longer!"

"Yes, you are! We're not letting you get yourself killed!" his dad insisted.

Kazu closed his eyes, "Are we going Tamer?"

"We-," he gestured to himself and Guilmon, "-are. You guys are staying here. I'm not letting anyone else's kids be killed on my watch."

"Oh, so what? You're going to let Rika and Henry and the others stay out there?" Kazu argued with him.

Tamerkato snorted at that point and remarked, "Are _you_ going to tell her what she can or can't do?"

That was also a good point. And he hated it. He hated being stuck in here while everyone else was out there and a part of the action. How could he argue with that? Kenta and Guardromon joined him to try and make their own pleas.

"We can help!" Kenta added.

"Proposition: Victory percentages increase if we were allowed to join," Guardromon stated in his monotone.

MarineAngemon joined in enthusiastically, "I don't know what they're all talking about but it sounds like you're all in need of help and that's what I'm here to do!"

It was pointless though. It was obvious he wasn't going to change his mind. Tamerkato just sighed as he massaged his temple, "I'm not going to drag you with me to the Digital World. But there's not much I can do to stop you guys from grabbing on to me when I say-"

He paused and Kazu didn't understand what he was getting at. Annoyed, he shouted, "We'll tackle you if we have too!"

Tamerkato responded by laughing at the top of his lungs. He wasn't sure why Tamerkato found it so funny though; he was dead serious about holding him down until they were allowed to help. At least until he understood that's what Tamerkato was getting at. Just as he raised up his digivice into the air, everyone grabbed onto Tamerkato as he cried out, "DIGIPORT OPEN!"

Even though they felt a falling sensation, Kazu's spirits were sky high because he could finally get out of that building and do some real good! And that made him so happy! At least, he felt happy and it lasted all of a few minutes until they landed on another cold, hard floor made of concrete and stone.

Once Kazu got his bearings, he groaned, "What? I thought we were heading outside! What's this place?"

"Technically, you're outside the Hypnos Building so you still got what you wanted," Tamerkato remarked matter of factly on the floor in front of him, offering a helping hand. As he took the help up, he saw Guilmon run into a corner and throw up uncontrollably.

Kazu groaned, "Yeah, but we're still inside. What gives? I thought we were going towards the action. Where are we?"

"The Hallowed Bastion," Guardromon explained knowledgeably.

"Wait a second, I know this place! This is the castle Ryo took us to!" Kenta said aloud as he straightened himself out. Now that Kazu got a better look at it, it seemed they were indeed in the castle Ryo had taken them to before when they were trying to reunite with the others before. But this area was different - they'd never been here before.

"We're in a secured area of the Bastion," Tamerkato explained as he helped his poor, nauseated partner up. He rubbed the dinosaur's back to help ease his upset stomach while explaining, "Because this next part of the plan uses a technology that the Guardians only ever used in emergencies - splitting merging worlds and combining separate ones isn't exactly the safest of ideas. There's a lot of risk. One miscalculation and you could find yourself merged into a wall. Someone could blink out of existence or, worse, two people could end up merged into one. Sort of like what happened with Miss Asaji and Kari."

As Kazu's vision adjusted to the darkened halls, he noticed a large silver door before them. It was open just a crack, enough for them to slide through easily to find a large cavernous room with a single pedestal in the center. Tamerkato rushed towards it with a big smile on his face and tapped a curious device he was wearing on his ear. A screen appeared in front of them, floating in front of the boy as he began tracing his finger along the thick layer of dust that had accumulated on the pedestal.

Once the last symbol was drawn, the room came to life with light and Tamerkato gleefully said, "Alright! We're on! Now to set up the data that Davis and Ken scanned."

He poked the floating screen in front of his face and small sparks of light jumped towards the pedestal, bringing it to life with light too. Now that they could properly see the world around them, Kazu asked, "So what is this place?"

"Don't remember the name," Tamerkato answered quickly, "Do remember what it does! It splits worlds apart…usually to destroy them so utterly that nothing is left. But that's not what we're trying to do - we're trying to rip apart two merged worlds. Which is why I needed the data of all the digimon in the Digital World to safely get them to the Natural Digital World when it gets separated from the Artificial One. I'm going to cross reference that information with the information from Database from Izumi's laptop to make sure that we're only pulling apart the Natural Digital World and none of the Artificial One gets taken with it."

"What?" Kazu said, feeling like he was sitting through the most boring lecture of life.

"Would you like me to simplify the explanation?" Guardromon asked.

Kazu wasn't in the mood for more lessons or study plans and just sighed in resignation, "How do you think I would follow any of that just because you used less big words?"

"I think the biggest word in that entire sentence was 'Artificial'. Or maybe it was 'Database'?" Kenta mused quietly.

"Okay, now to message the others and tell them to get ready to attack," Tamerkato said, pulling out what looked like a radio from his hoodie, "Davis! It's The Digimon Tamer! Can you hear me? Get ready to attack. In about twenty seconds, the D-Reaper's going to be thrown off by the biggest headache it's ever felt."

"On it," Motomiya's voice echoed back dryly. Tamerkato waited a few a moments longer as the light gathered around the pedestal before beginning to trace his finger into the pedestal again. Kenta watched him carefully and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Concentrating," was Tamerkato's answer.

"Not all ancient technology works the same. Some work with buttons, others through voice command, and this operates on written language. It was their final fail safe to ensure only their kind could use their more dangerous technologies. Trace the writing onto the device to operate it. It's not convenient but some technologies shouldn't be convenient," Guardromon explained.

"And NOW!" Tamerkato declared as he finished tracing his finger along the pedestal. They felt the castle rumble as Tamerkato ran up to them, "The worlds are splitting apart and we need to get out of here before we gets mixed up in it and get split identities!"

Nobody needed telling twice as they leapt on to him and Tamerkato raised up his digivice, "DIGIPORT OPEN!"

The falling sensation returned but things were different. It was like the world was cracking around them - breaking into fragments like glass. And he could see something…starting back through the cracks at them. It wasn't a digimon…and it wasn't human. Whatever was looking at him, it was all Kazu could do to not scream.

…

Taomon carried Rika in her arm as they flew over the red mass guided by the school teacher atop her own partner Magnadramon. Despite all the danger they'd encountered, Renamon had to admit that she was enjoying herself. Between the ancient threat to the Digital World, meeting the sovereign digimon, and fighting along side the famed heroes of the Digital World; Renamon was unsure if there was anything else she specifically could ask for in the moment. Not to mention getting to help the Digimon Tamer save reality, although she was disappointed that a lot of the stories she'd learned about him in that time weren't as true as they seemed.

Least of all was the part about him being a great warrior. If any part of that story were true, it stopped being the case a long time ago.

Still, for a digimon like herself, this was a once in a life time opportunity. One she was sure she would've been deleted and destroyed long before she had the chance to ever experience it. Then again, that was nothing when compared to what must've been going through Beelzemon's mind.

When they'd first met, he was so dead set on not getting involved and letting others do all the fighting. And now? He was fighting right along side them. Even if the partnership were circumstantial, it brought a smile to her face.

"What's got you all smiles?" Rika asked.

"Just enjoying the moment while it lasts," Taomon answered.

"Really? This is the moment you're enjoying?" Rika's tone became skeptical, "We're fighting for our lives against an enemy so powerful that even a bunch of reality altering old farts couldn't think of how to kill it, and you're enjoying it?"

Taomon laughed, "Not that. This...All of us fighting together like this. It's almost amusing to think we were trying to hurt each other when we first met."

"Gotta admit, Rika's certainly not the ice queen she was when this all started," Rapidmon added with a big smile.

"Not everything's changed. You're still as much of an annoying goofball as when all this started," Henry remarked before turning his head over to Justimon, "Thing's probably changed the most for you. After all, you've been in the Digital World this entire time."

"Not really. We're still fighting for our lives every day against a bunch of monsters. All that's really changed is the location," Justimon answered pensively. He paused for a moment, his mood unreadable because of the helmet concealing his face, "Whether it's here or in the Digital World, what difference does it make? I might as well have stayed if I knew all this was going on."

Perhaps Ishida was just getting tired of all the talking but he remarked with his usual bitter tone, "You've all matured so much and you've all grown up. We're proud of you. Blah blah blah. Look, can we save all the touchy feely talk for after we've beaten the world-killing monster thing?"

"Come on, Matt. Go easy on them, they're kids. We were like that too," his wife reminded him calmly, "And don't try and tell me otherwise, mister had to go off and play his harmonica to feel better."

"Honey! Come on," the man sighed reluctantly, his head turning bright red with embarrassment.

"We're here," Kari announced loudly as they reached a part of the city that was half swallowed by the red mass - the roofs of buildings jutted out through the red sea through which they could make out the vague outline of streets and alleys.

"You're sure?" Davis asked.

"Yeah, I remember that roof top specifically! It's where Tamer and I went after the train," Kari said.

Their D-Terminals beeped at the same time and Kari read hers first, "And that's Tamer's message. It's time!"

"Okay, do your thing Matt," Ken cried out as the adult man turned behind him. He pressed a few buttons on the side of the weapon mounted on his partner's back, priming the bomb to blow. Once it was set, he patted his partner's head and the metal wolf listed to his right side so that the bomb could fall off. They all watched with bated breath as the bomb fell towards the red sea below.

As if the D-Reaper anticipated the attack, part of its form bulged upwards and opened up to swallow the bomb whole.

Everything was dead quiet as they watched the bomb disappear into the red mass.

Nothing.

Did it fail? It couldn't have! That was their one chance to save Juri.

Then a small flash inside the red sea, accompanied by a muffled boom rippled its surface. Then came the shockwave, followed shortly by the eruption of noise.

The bomb exploded with enough force to destroy some of the nearby buildings and rip open a hole in the D-Reaper's outer layer - revealing an opening below where a train car sat still on the tracks.

"There it is!" Kari cried out.

"Okay everyone! LET'S SAVE JURI!" Rika cried.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** The fight to save Juri has begun! Will they succeed? Or has the D-Reaper grown too powerful to defeat? And will the Juggernaut be completed in time? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name due out in three weeks on Friday, July 10th at 8 PM CDT. I'm hopeful we'll see COVID-19 begin to at least settle down in my area by then which means we can go back to our regular three weeks of updates, with a one week intermission by then. Hopeful being the keyword. Until then, all of you be safe and take care. If you loved it, let me know in the reviews section. And hey, don't forget to follow the story to keep up with all the latest updates and favorite to show support. That's all I have for now, so let's look at previews for the next chapter!

" _This isn't working. We need to change strategies," Henry said aloud. Which was a lot easier said than done. After all, what other strategies could they use? They were outnumbered, outmatched, against an enemy who could change itself on the fly against whatever they could throw at them. What else could they do?_

" _AAAAAAHHH!"_

 _A flash of light blinded them briefly as they heard disembodied screams come crashing down beside them. Kazu, Kenta, Guardromon, MarineAngemon, Tamerkato, and Guilmon. She wasn't sure if she wanted to celebrate or throw a punch at him in anger, "Goggle head!? Please say you're not about to run off on another part of your plan!"_


	46. Juri, Let Us Save You

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of The Tamer v2.0: In His Name is a fanfiction idea. Please support the official properties.

* * *

 **The Tamer v2.0: In His Name**

 **Chapter 46: Juri, Let Us Save You**

Juri felt fear as she heard the monster's voice echo inside of her head. It was scared and in a panic. And being able to share a mind with it - to be unable to distinguish its own panicked thoughts from her own - was beginning to take a toll on her.

" _Refocus resources, focus strength on absorbing in the other world, acquire more strength, it must not be allowed to win."_

Although it spoke in its usual monotone, the fast pace made her wonder just how much of its behavior was motivated by fear or cruel calculation. As it spoke, more images flashed through her mind of the Digital World. Countless digimon fighting for their lives, trying to hold back an advancing sea of red that wouldn't stop. Then another image came to mind of a golden haired angel bathed in beautiful white light piercing through the sea of red. And the voice screamed in its head.

" _More time! More strength! Need more time! Acquire more resources! Grow in strength! It must be defeated! IT CANNOT WIN!"_

The voice's coherence turned into full on garbled static as she felt pain like a needle in her brain. She grabbed at her head to ease the pain, but only felt it get worse. She gasped as images of a bright light enveloping the Digital World moved through her head. She could feel the world shaking as she fell to her side and curled up into a ball. All she could feel was unbelievable pain and she just wanted it to stop.

* * *

"TALISMAN OF LIGHT!"

"RAPID FIRE!"

"JUSTICE BEAM!"

"METAL WOLF CLAW!"

The attacks cried out as the partner digimon did everything they could to keep the D-Reaper from reforming around the train car. The rest of the humans were gathered at the train car trying to get inside. And from what Rika could see, Juri was on the floor inside the train car with Calumon in her arms. She was so close, yet she seemed so far away.

Juri barely seemed to register what was going on - that the D-Reaper had retreated and that she was going to be rescued. In fact, she looked to be in some kind of pain. Rika banged on the window to get her attention, "JURI! JURI!"

The girl didn't react to her. Calumon did though. His ears expanded upon seeing Rika and he cried something out, but it was completely drowned out by all the noise around them. It looked like he was trying to get out of her arms, struggling against her. But try as he might, Juri's hands tightened around him until he started to gasp for breath.

Rika slammed on the window, trying to get through the window until Ishida pulled her away, "Get behind me!"

He drew his pistol from its holster and fired at the window, shattering the glass with two shots and reaching through the window to get the door open, "Come on! AH! GOT IT!"

The door slid open and he squeezed his arm to keep all the blood from draining out. He'd cut his arm on all the broke glass just trying to turn the handle and his wife was helping him keep pressure on the wound, "Hurry! Get her out of there! The sooner we go, the better! I don't think Matt's going to-"

"GOT IT!" Rika said, not waiting as she rushed inside to see Calumon begging to be let go and Juri still doubled over on the floor in pain. The little digimon begged and pleaded, "PLEASE! SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH JURI AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT BUT IT'S SCARING ME! PLEASE GET ME-"

Calumon froze for a moment as one of Juri's hands reached out to trace a pattern on his forehead. Once she finished, the little digimon let out the most horrific scream any of them had ever heard. As he wailed in agony, a light burst forth from the mark on his forehead. It blinded them for a moment, but Rika was able to see Juri speak in a mechanical drone, "Upgrade in Progress."

 _Upgrade in Progress?_ Oh no. Rika's mind raced, overcome with panic as she tried to figure out what else the D-Reaper could have to throw at them. Then she felt herself pulled out of the train car and on to her back.

"RIKA! Look out!" Taomon's voice cried out. Once Rika's vision returned, she saw what looked a behemoth of a blob monster standing over her, with one foot raised just above her head. She rolled clear of the attack and scraped her arms on the gravel just as the foot came crashing down on top the tracks. She rolled onto her side and looked back up at the monstrous creature.

This thing had the emaciated torso of something vaguely humanoid. The rest of its lower body was missing, as if it had been ripped clean of its lower half and left to crawl its way around on just its own two arms. Despite that, it was still tall enough and large enough to be as dangerous as it was terrifying, especially since it had almost stepped on her just a moment ago. Taomon landed beside her and scooped her up, "It's not safe! All of you! Get back!"

"You don't have to tell us twice!" Ishida shouted, gripping his arm tight as he and his wife hurried their way towards MetalGarurumon. Taomon leapt back away from the train car as the hulking monster turned on them, giving her an aerial view of the fight. And Rika could see they couldn't hold the train forever.

The D-Reaper was slowly swallowing up the space they'd made with the military's bomb and it was only a matter of time until it swallowed them up whole. And from this elevated position, she could also see all the various D-Reaper creatures attacking them. Some looked like the bird creatures from before but now with guns growing out of their 'wings'. Others looked like giant pink squid monsters with smiley faces drawn all over its body.

One of those smiley faces opened up wide to reveal a gaping maw filled with rows of bulbous eyes and misshapen teeth covered in viscous slime that oozed out of its mouth. With its tentacled appendages, it swung at the ground around them while growling.

Rika gasp, "This is no good. We have to stop that thing!"

"We have to save Juri!" Taomon reminded them.

"We can't save her if we can't get to her!" Rika countered.

"Then we'll have to get her to us!" Henry cried out. Rika turned her head towards him, "What are you talking about? Bring her to us? We CAN'T even get to her!"

"We can't get to her! But we can get near the train car!" Henry shouted out, tapping his partner on the head. He gestured over towards Imperialdramon and Rapidmon flew off towards the dragon. Rika blinked as she watched him fly off towards the dragon, trying to follow the boy's logic. Train car? What was he even thinking about?

And why did he need Imperialdramon of all digimon...

"What is he thinking?" Taomon asked allowed.

"I think I just figured it out," Rika said, patting Taomon on the shoulder, "We need to cover Imperialdramon. Ryo! I mean Justimon!"

"WHAT!?" he cried out, voice just barely audible over the sound of all the fighting.

"We need to protect Imperialdramon!?" Rika shouted at him. That time he seemed to hear her and he turned with what was definitely a shocked expression under that helmet he was wearing over his face, "Protect Imperialdramon? He's a giant dragon who can fly faster than _sound_ and has a cannon so powerful it blows up _mountain_ ranges! What does _he_ need protecting for?"

"We can't protect this place forever. He's going to grab the train car and get it out of there!"

"That's…" Justimon paused for a moment to consider it before mumbling, "…not a bad idea, actually. Okay, We'll protect Imperialdramon."

"Then what are the rest of us supposed to do until then?" Beelzemon growled at the top of his lungs, firing his shotgun and his cannon freely at any target that moved within range of his weapon.

Rika would've thought that part was obvious and gestured at the surrounding monsters the D-Reaper was currently throwing at them, "What do you _think_ we should be doing?"

"Hey! Don't get snippy with me! You guys are always complainin' 'bout that one kid leavin' ya outta the loop, so don't go whinin' when I ask ya not to do the same to me!" Beelzemon growled, turning back towards the D-Reaper swarm. The other mega level digimon were hitting it with everything they had but it was obvious that the power gap was not something they could overcome. These new D-Reaper creatures were fast enough to avoid getting hit and strong enough to not even flinch when the attack hit its mark. Really, all they were doing was buying time. Which made speed all the more important.

Imperialdramon was already on top of the train car, using his claws to separate it from the other cars and lifting off into the air. The other D-Reaper creatures registered what was happening and moved to intercept the dragon before he could get to high into the sky.

Rosemon, HerculesKabuterimon, Magnadramon, Seraphimon, Vikemon, MetalGarurumon, Hououmon, and Beelzemon gave everything they could to hold the swarm of creatures back. However, their numbers were too great for the megas combined might to be enough. Especially when their combined might was just barely able to knock down one of these things. As their space slowly disappeared, they either took to the air or hopped on top of the train car to keep shooting at the attackers.

"Running out of room here," Rosemon said, cracking her vines at any of the creatures that were getting too close. Beelzemon positioned himself beside her, firing his beam cannon freely.

He fired off two more rounds and snapped, "So quit yapping and keep fighting! What kinda weapon is that anyway? Who uses a whip?"

"Who uses an old shotgun?" Rosemon countered.

"And here I was thinking the fox dame was bad," he grumbled, firing his cannon again. Justimon landed on the roof of the train car and punched a pair of the bird creatures that were sneaking up on them from behind.

Both megas were taken aback, but didn't dwell on it. There was a lot to be mindful of in this battle. Taomon and Rapidmon also set down on the roof, if only to give their partners a place to stay out of harm's way as the fighting raged around them. Rika called upwards towards the flying dragon, "Imperialdramon! You need to move faster!"

"Working on it! This thing ain't exactly light and if we move too fast, you guys will all go flying off," the two minded dragon responded as he continued to ascend skyward away from the pursuing red mass. Once he was at least above the nearest buildings, the rest of the digimon ascended with him since the growing mass of the D-Reaper made the area around the tracks completely hard to defend. Then the unthinkable happened - the swarming D-Reaper monsters began to swarm upwards.

The grounded creatures piled on top of each other, climbing on top of one another to make a grab at it. The ones who could fly threw themselves at either Imperialdramon to hurt him or on to train car. None of them individually would've been able to do much by themselves but all of them hitting it at once was enough to make the train car start to slip out of his hand. Imperialdramon tightened his hold to keep it from flying off while the others tried to fight the swarming creatures off.

Rika cried, "THESE THINGS ARE EVERYWHERE!"

"We'll hold them," Taomon said, swinging her brush to drawn as many symbols as possible, "Talisman of Light!"

"RAPID FIRE!" Rapidmon shouted, firing his gun arms in every conceivable direction. But nothing they could do was putting a dent in the numbers the D-Reaper was throwing at them.

"This isn't working. We need to change strategies," Henry said aloud. Which was a lot easier said than done. After all, what other strategies could they use? They were outnumbered, outmatched, against an enemy who could upgrade itself on the fly against whatever they could throw at it. What else could they do?

"AAAAAAHHH!"

A flash of light blinded them briefly as they heard disembodied screams come crashing down beside them. Kazu, Kenta, Guardromon, MarineAngemon, Tamerkato, and Guilmon. She wasn't sure if she wanted to celebrate or throw a punch at him in anger, "Gogglehead!? Please say you're not about to run off on another part of your plan!"

"Hello, currently separating the Digital Worlds which we can't be there for if we don't want to get our personalities split in half. What's going on?" Tamer spat out as he tried to steady himself, "And what are we on? Why is it...oh, is that Imperialdramon?"

"Aw yeah, dude! Right in the middle of the action where I wanted to be!" Kazu punched the air ecstatically. He was already preparing his digivice and deck, running to the edge of the train car to survey things, "Now we get to help out! Digimodify!"

Kazu swiped cards like crazy through his digivice and gave Guardromon a swath of power-ups and Machinedramon's canon to go with it. Guardromon planted his feet firmly in the ground and fired the first shot, obliterating a hole in the swarm of attacking D-Reaper creatures that made the rest of them stop in surprise.

"Alright! That's how you do it!" Kazu said excitedly, "Come on, Kenta! You help out, too!"

"I...uh...yeah," Kenta took out his own deck and started fumbling for cards to power up his partner. Tamerkato looked around and remarked, "Wait, are we on a train car?"

"We couldn't snap Juri out of her funk or get her out in time so we're just taking the entire car," she explained to him. He nodded and threw his goggles over his head, "Okay. Get her and Calumon out of here! Guilmon! DigiModify! Angemon's Wings Activate! Speed Boost Activate!"

He hurried over to his red dragon partner and leapt onto his back. The dragon let out a loud belch before taking off into the air, whining, "We're not going to use a digiport again, are we?"

"Not this time buddy," he said, "DIGIMODIFY! WARGREYMON'S SHIELD ACTIVATE!"

Rika snapped her attention back to the fight as it was playing out in front of them. She was just about open up her deck to modify her partner when she heard a loud noise behind her. She spun around to see another of those puppet scythe creatures just inches from her face, ready to strike at her. Its blade was already over head, ready to strike her down. Rika tried to move her feet away in terror but was unable to do so. All she could do was stand there and watch the blade come down on top of her.

"Leave her alone!" Rosemon shouted as she leapt between them, taking the strike across her chest before swinging her whip around to wrap itself around the creature. With another swing, she threw it into another of the bird creatures and away from them. She took another swing to take out as many of the creatures as possible before collapsing to one side, "Ah...are you okay, Ruki?"

"I'm fine...thank you," she answered, watching her mom's wounded partner trying to hide the pain. But it was obvious that strike did more harm than she was admitting, especially since she was buckled over with a hand over where she was hit and talking between gasped breaths.

Taomon moved in front of them, "Sorry, I was distracted."

"Don't be. We just need to get her out of here," Rika said, feeling Imperialdramon turn and try to fly away with the train car still in his claws. Her mom's own partner had leapt in the way to protect her. She took up her digivice, recalling what Justimon and Beelzemon had said about biomerging. Now was as good a time as any to try it again. She raised up her digivice and readied a red card from her deck, "Okay, let's do this Taomon. Digimodify! Digivolution, ACTIVATE!"

She heard a heartbeat as Taomon was enveloped by a bright light, "Taomon! Digivolve to!"

A warm feeling grew in her heart until it completely wrapped itself around her, blinding everything with light, "SAKUYAMON!"

Rika stood tall, feeling the heavy armor upon her much taller body. It took her a moment to steady herself before raising her staff into the air, "Okay boys. You want her, you're going to have to get through me!"

 _Us_ , Renamon's voice echoed in her head.

"Right, us," Rika replied.

"Who are you talking to?" Rosemon asked from behind her.

"Nothing," she replied, watching as the creatures swarmed forward to attack. She swung her staff every way she could to strike down as many of the D-Reaper's creatures as possible but even she could tell this was a wasted effort. Everyone she brought down meant another one would appear to take its place. And if she didn't know any better, she would say they were getting stronger.

* * *

Henry swiped more cards to give Rapidmon the power boost he needed to strike back against these creatures, but even he could tell the fight wasn't going their way. They were barely getting any distance from the D-Reaper's advancing monsters and it seemed all their efforts really were for nothing at this point. Still, they couldn't just give up. They had to keep trying until either the Juggernaut could be activated or it could get away. He glanced back into the train car to see Juri curled up into a ball on floor, seemingly in incredible pain. Calumon was beside her, passed out on the floor. Then she started tracing her fingers across his forehead as she announced, "Upgrade in Progress."

"No," Henry said in disbelief, finally understanding where these things were coming form just as the light shone forth from Calumon's head. Calumon's eyes burst open as he began screaming in unbelievable terror again. It was Calumon. The D-Reaper, through Juri, was using Calumon to upgrade itself and make stronger forms to fight them. And if they wanted to win, they needed to get Calumon away from her.

"RAPIDMON!" he called out to his partner who was busy peppering away more of the D-Reaper creatures with ease. Once Rapidmon found a moment to talk, he turned his attention to Henry and asked, "What?"

"It's Calumon! We have to get him away from Juri!" Henry explained, "As long as the D-Reaper has control over Juri, it can upgrade her indefinitely! We need to get them away from each other!"

"Uh...okay...good luck?" Rapidmon said, turning his head as another creature was coming to attack him. He blasted it with gunfire until it was gone and turned back to Henry, "I mean...I don't know about _we_. _I'm_ way too big to fit inside that thing."

Henry did a double take as he looked back at his partner and then size of the train car. Yeah, of course. But he still had to get in. And Rapidmon was now too busy fighting off more of those creatures to actually be of some kind of help. He'd need to find another way in and he looked around until he spotted a hatch in the roof of the train car.

That was his way in. He made his way over to it and tried to pry it open, only to find it stuck in place. Maybe it was just rusted shut or maybe the lock really was that strong. Either way, the damn thing just would not open.

"What are ya doin?" Beelzemon called out as he looked over his shoulder. Henry looked up from the gate, "I'm trying to get inside! We need to get Calumon away from Juri if we're going to stop more of these things from showing up."

"The pip squeak? Geez, how much trouble is that lil' guy? Here!" he stooped down to pry the hatch open himself. It didn't take much effort for him, but he ripped it open and threw the hatch at one of the attacking scythe creatures, "OKAY! GET IN!"

"Doing it," Henry lowered himself into the train car slowly but found himself dangling in the air, legs swinging towards one of the seats only to be left dangling up there. He couldn't get within reach of any of the seats so he did the only thing he could do - drop himself down onto the floor below and trying to catch himself as he landed.

He toppled over on to his knees when he hit the floor which was enough to snap Calumon out of his pained trance, "Henry!? HENRY! Please! Help me! She keeps-"

"Don't worry, I'm coming," Henry said, running over and trying to pry Calumon free of Juri's grip. The girl was surprisingly stronger than she looked and nothing he did could get her arms to budge or loosen her hold on Calumon. All the while, Calumon screamed to be freed as Juri mumbled quietly to herself.

"She's...not...budging," Henry said as he kept trying to get it open to no avail. He gazed when he finally let go, trying to think of other options but he just couldn't think of anything that didn't involve hurting Juri. But what other choice did he have? He didn't like the idea but it was the only one going through his mind and maybe it would work? He reeled back his hand and apologized, "Sorry, Juri."

...

Pain across her cheek was all Juri could feel as the world around her came into focus. She looked around, unsure of what was going on when her eyes lay on Henry standing over her. Did he slap her? Why? She shook her head and looked up at Henry, "Henry? HENRY!? Where are we!? What's going on!?"

"We need to get out of here. Come on!" he said trying to get Calumon from her arms only to find that she was still holding him tight.

She tried releasing him but her arms wouldn't budge. In fact, her entire body below her neck wouldn't move and panic began to set in, "I can't move! I can't feel anything! What's going on!? I don't like this!"

"Juri! Juri!" Henry said, trying to get the girl's attention, "I think the D-Reaper still has control over your body. Don't worry, we're working on a plan to save you. We just need to get Calumon away from you."

"Me?" Calumon repeated.

"Calumon!?" Juri said as well, eyes wide with disbelief.

"I'm sorry, Juri. The D-Reaper is using your body to use Calumon's power and make itself stronger. If we can't save you, the least we can do is get him away from you while we think of another plan," Henry said to her. They were abandoning her. That's what he was saying. Of course they were abandoning her. What good was she without her partner? After all, Calumon was the one who needed saving. With him, they at least might able to change things by making themselves stronger. What good would rescuing her do?

"WHAT'S TAKING SO LONG, KID!? THESE THINGS ARE EVERYWHERE!"

"No," Juri gasped, recognizing that voice. She looked up and saw Beelzemon peering down into the train car through a hole in the roof.

He fired off two more blasts from his gun and added, "We're running out of room! Get her out of there!"

"The D-Reaper still has control over her body!" Henry argued back at him, before turning to her, "Don't worry Juri. We're not leaving you! I promise!"

But none of that registered with Juri. All her attention was on Beelzemon now. The digimon who killed her partner. The one who caused all of this by giving Calumon to the digimon. And right now, all she wanted was for him to go away.

"NO!" she cried away in terror, "Go away!"

"What!?" Henry repeated in surprise as Calumon cried, "No! Juri! Please don't do this! We're trying to help you! We're all trying to help you! You need to fight it! Please!"

"Fight it...Fight it..." she repeated quietly, her mind still racing with the memory of when Beelzemon killed Leomon. Her heart was racing and whatever fear she felt vanished into fire. It was replaced only by resentment.

 _They will abandon you._

They were trying to.

 _They have the one who killed your partner with them._

They did.

 _They don't value you, Juri._

That wasn't true, was it?

 _We value you, Juri. Together, we will punish Beelzemon._

"Yes," she said, losing herself in anger as the voice echoed in her brain, _Upgrade in progress._

...

"Juri! Fight it!" Henry said as Juri's eyes locked on to him. They were blank again. The D-Reaper was in control again, "Upgrade in Progress."

"Crap!" was all Henry managed to say. Then he heard glass shatter from behind him and something grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. It pulled hard, dragging him through the glass and back out of the train. Once he was out, he could see what attacked him with his own eyes and they widened in surprise. It was one of those tall creatures with multiple eyes on its head and more mouths than any reasonable creature could possess. It let out a dull roar in his face that drowned him in the awful smell of death as he acknowledge the situation he was in.

"Crap," was all he could think to say as it threw him towards the red mass below and he fell, "CRAP!"

"HENRY!" Rapidmon called out. He was falling now. Everything else was just a blur as he accelerated towards the burning red mass below him. He really hoped Rapidmon's speed boost hadn't worn off yet. Because if it hadn't, he was screwed. And he closed his eyes as his death came racing towards him, "CRAP!"

"HENRY!" Rapidmon said. He opened his back up to see Rapidmon just within reach. He was so close. Henry tried reaching back out to his partner when he heard a voice around them, "Heads up!"

It was Tamerkato, riding atop Guilmon. Then Guilmon threw the shield with all his might so that Henry landed on it. And he bounced off it as quickly as he hit it, back up towards Rapidmon, "GOTCHA!"

Rapidmon threw him onto his back and jetted away from the red mass, just in time for the other D-Reaper creatures to notice and come after them. Rapidmon tried fighting them off with his guns while also trying to balance Henry, which he appreciated since he was barely holding on at these speeds. But that didn't stop his partner from finding time to drop jokes, "I take it things didn't go well?"

"You think?" Henry answered back as he tried to get his bearings. His hands were shaking from his near death experience and his heart was pounding so hard he could feel it in his ears. He reached for his digivice, "We're going to have to change our tactics buddy. This is going to be hard to do."

"Just say when," Rapidmon said as he tried to put more distance between them and the pursuing D-Reaper creatures. He flipped through his deck carefully, trying to not lose any more cards than he already before finding the red digivolution card, "Okay, got it."

"Make it fast," Rapidmon said as he skid to a complete stop. Henry used that chance to swipe the red card and cry out, "DIGIMODIFY! DIGIVOLUTION ACTIVATE!"

He felt a surge of energy run through his body and his heart rate increased. Light blinded him and Rapidmon's voice echoed, "RAPIDMON! BIOMERGE TO! MEGAGARGOMON!"

"Oh hey, it worked," Henry said aloud. _It's about damn time_ , Terriermon's voice echoed inside his head, _So what do we do now?_ I guess we just keep holding them off.

* * *

Beelzemon's mouth fell open as Henry was pulled out of the train while Juri continued to sit on the chair, staring in silent disbelief. This couldn't be right. She just watched her friend get taken away by one of those things and she didn't seem the least bit fazed by it. Was it because of the trauma of what he did to her partner? Was it because of this red thing all the humans were freaking out about. It didn't are sense but he did know one thing. He needed to get Calumon away from her before she did another one of those upgrade things.

"Fine, I'll do it myself," he mumbled as he ripped the hatch entry wider so that he could leap inside the train car. Naturally, Calumon started freaking out and crying at the sight of him, "Oh no! Not you! Please! Don't hurt me!"

"Oh shaddap! I'm here to help!" he said, reaching for Calumon and trying to pull him free of the little girl's arms. All it took was one pull and a yelp from the little digimon for him to understand why Henry was struggling so much. This girl must've been a lot stronger than she looked to be holding Calumon so tight. Hell, he almost wondered what humans did to be so strong. He didn't recall any particular times when she'd worked out or did any kind of muscular exercise...

Wait...why would he remember anything of the sort? He didn't know anything in particular about her. Actually, now that he thought about it, where was that sock puppet of hers? She usually used it when she needed to express herself. And why did he know that? He never interacted with her so how did he have all these memories of her when...

He paused as he thought about it. He killed her partner. He absorbed her partner. Beelzemon always thought he'd just gotten a power boost from it but he'd never stopped to consider...if he'd also gotten more from it. He had memories that weren't his floating around inside his head. Leomon's memories...

Maybe...maybe he could talk to her?

He relaxed his grip on Calumon and put a hand on her shoulder, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself before he spoke, "Juri...I need you to give Calumon to me."

Juri continued to stare ahead blankly. He had to admit it was annoying. No...she was scared...she was angry...

And all those feelings were definitely aimed at him. After what he did, how could they not be? He took another moment to calm him breathing before adding, "I...I'm sorry for what I did Juri. I know nothing I do can bring him back."

He paused, trying to think of what to say next. He wasn't very good at this sort of thing. Then again, his only frame of reference was Mako and Ai being forced to give each other half hearted apologies when their parents scolded them. But he still had to try. He owed Leomon and the others at least that much. But he was good at one thing...giving one hundred percent effort at something he wanted to do.

"But I will save you! I promise you that much! So please, let me save you! Just for the hell of it. Let me get you out of here. But to do that, I need to get Calumon away from you!"

No answer. No remarks from her. Just silence.

That was a good sign, right? He didn't know the first thing about humans. Still, he tried to pry Calumon from her arms again. Still nothing. He pulled harder but nothing.

* * *

Juri could feel herself doubling over in terror. She didn't want to watch this. She refused to give Calumon to Beelzemon. And who was Beelzemon fooling, saying he was going to save anyone? He was only good for one thing: killing. But that wasn't going to be her fate. She wasn't going to die. Not by Beelzemon and not by this thing they were fighting.

"NNNOOO!" she cried out in anger. All she wanted was for Beelzemon to go away. And she felt the smallest hint of happiness as she watched him get pulled away by one of the creatures outside. But that happiness turned to panic as she realized she might've just thrown away her only chance to be saved. What had she done?

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Will Beelzemon be okay? Can they still save Juri? Will the team get the Juggernaut ready to fire in time? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of The Tamer v2.0 - In His Name, due out in three weeks on Friday, 31st at 8 PM CST! I know, I'm sorry. I know I said we might be back to the normal update schedule but then COVID spiked and now things are busier than they were before. I'm sorry for bringing up false hope. If you loved the story, don't forget to favorite and to follow to keep up with the latest updates. And leave a review with any thoughts you guys might have! That's all I have for now, let's look at previews for the next chapter!

" _It's fine," he assured her, "Everything will be fine. I'm still in control. But if this goes sideways…I'm sorry. For everything. For not being open and honest from the beginning. For all the times I lied…and for what happened to Leomon. I never wanted to see anyone else get hurt, especially not because of me."_

 _And then he vanished into the darkness along with the eye. Juri was alone. And as relieved as she was to see the thing was gone, she didn't want to be left alone in the dark, "Tamer!? Tamerkato! I mean…ah! Wait! Don't leave! Please!"_


End file.
